From First South Bank

 First South Bancorp, Inc. the parent holding company of First South Bank, reported that on Jan. 22, 2015, the company’s Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.025 per share, payable Feb. 13, 2015, to shareholders of record as of the close of business on Feb. 3, 2015.

First South Bancorp, Inc. Reports Dec. 31, 2014, Quarterly and Year End Operating Results (issued Jan. 26, 2015):

First South Bancorp, Inc. the parent holding company of First South Bank reported its unaudited financial results for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2014.

The company previously reported that on Dec. 12, 2014, the bank completed the acquisition of nine branch banking offices in eastern North Carolina from Bank of America, N.A. (“BOA”). In connection with this transaction the bank incurred a number of one-time expenses that impacted its results of operations for the quarter and year ended Dec. 31, 2014. The results of operations were also impacted by a fee associated with the prepayment of Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLB”) advances and other non-recurring expenses during the quarter.

For the 2014 fourth quarter, net income was $142,000 or $0.02 per diluted common share, compared to net income of $1.3 million, or $0.14 per diluted common share for the linked 2014 third quarter and $1.1 million or $0.12 per diluted common share for the comparative 2013 fourth quarter. Net income for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014 was $3.9 million, or $0.40 per diluted common share, compared to $6.0 million, or $0.62 per diluted common share for the year ended Dec. 31, 2013.

Pre-tax net income for the current quarter reflects the impact of $1.7 million of one-time acquisition transaction expenses and the prepayment fee on FHLB advances. Excluding the net effects of these one-time expenses, net income for the quarter ended Dec. 31, 2014, would have totaled $1.3 million, or $0.14 per diluted common share. Net income for the year ended Dec. 31, 2014, would have been $5.0 million, or $0.52 per diluted common share.

Bruce Elder, president and CEO, said, “On Dec. 12, 2014, we completed our transaction with Bank of America and acquired nine banking centers, expanding our presence into seven new eastern North Carolina markets. In addition to expanding our branch and ATM network, we also acquired a strong core customer base. Our challenge looking ahead to 2015 will be to capitalize on lending opportunities and broaden our market share in both new and existing markets.

We continue to remain focused on our core earnings and asset quality. While our financial results were impacted by a number of one-time expenses in the 2014 fourth quarter, we have made progress in the areas of net interest income, core non-interest income and containing recurring non-interest expenses.”

First South Bancorp, Inc. Announces Stock Purchase Plan (issued Jan. 27, 2015):

First South Bancorp, Inc. announced today that it has adopted a plan to repurchase up to 2.5 percent of its outstanding shares of common stock, or approximately 239,950 shares, effective as of Feb. 1, 2015.

Scott McLean, chief financial officer of the company, said, “The Board of Directors has authorized this stock repurchase plan based on the continued strength of the company’s balance sheet and capital position. We believe that a share repurchase plan is an important tool we can utilize to unlock additional value to our shareholders.”

First South Bank has been serving the citizens of eastern and central North Carolina since 1902 and offers a variety of financial products and services, including a leasing company. Securities brokerage services are made available through an affiliation with an independent broker/dealer. The bank operates through its main office headquartered in Washington and currently has 35 full service branch offices. The company’s common stock symbol as traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market is “FSBK.”