The decrease in New Century Bancorp’s net income is primarily due to increases in the provision for loan losses that were necessitated by the identification of problem loans in the portfolio of New Century Bank, as has already been reported.
New Century Bancorp has reported that its basic and diluted earnings per share for 2007 were $0.25 and $0.24, respectively, compared to basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.69 and $0.65, respectively, for 2006.
For the fourth quarter, New Century Bancorp has posted a net income of $861,000, an increase of 60% over net income of $539,000 for the same quarter in 2006. Basic and diluted earnings per share for fourth quarter 2007 were $0.13, compared to basic and diluted earnings per share for fourth quarter 2006 of $0.08.
William Hedgepeth, president and CEO of New Century Bancorp, said: We are pleased to report positive results for 2007, a year in which we faced a number of challenges as a company. As our headquarters is located in Dunn, North Carolina, we are pleased to report that, based on Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation data as of June 30, 2007, we maintained our number one ranking in deposit market share there, and also rose to number three in market share in Goldsboro, NC in only a few short years.
