Community Bankers Trust Corporation Reports Results for Fourth Quarter and Year 2015

RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 29, 2016

Rex L. Smith, III, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, "I am excited by what we accomplished in the past year, but especially for the momentum created in the fourth quarter.  While the termination of the shared loss agreement creates a loss for the year, it will generate a significant cost savings going forward.  Essex Bank has positive core operating growth and a healthy balance sheet with strong capital, solid asset quality, and liquidity, which, in addition to the growth in loans and the expense reductions, give us real earnings power going into 2016. 

Smith added, "The growth in new loans and non-interest bearing deposits was strong in the quarter and for the year.  The new branches in Bowie Maryland and Richmond, Virginia are off to great starts.  Additionally, we expect to open our Fairfax branch in late February of this year.  This will augment our loan production office there.  This type of growth is crucial for our franchise moving forward, and we saw the results of this in the fourth quarter."

Smith concluded, "Management has worked hard to simplify the balance sheet and continues to make every effort to grow the organization in accordance with our strategic plans.  The earnings are down year over year as expected from executing on our strategic plans, and the initiatives that we have put into place should yield positive results for 2016."

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

Net income was $2.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared with a net loss of $7.7 million in the third quarter of 2015 and net income of $2.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2014.  Earnings/(loss) per common share, basic and fully diluted, were  $0.10 per share for the fourth quarter of 2015, compared with $(0.35) per share in the third quarter of 2015 and $0.10 per share in the fourth quarter of 2014.

On a linked quarter basis, net income increased $9.9 million.  Excluding the one-time charge related to the termination of the FDIC shared-loss agreements in the third quarter, net income would have increased $1.4 million.  The write-down of three bank properties in the third quarter of 2015, two in held for sale totaling $684,000 and one held in other real estate owned for $392,000, was the major factor for this increase.  Additionally, salaries and employee benefits decreased by $366,000 on a linked quarter basis. In the third quarter of 2015, the Company recorded $161,000 in severance payments related to position consolidations that will reduce the salaries and employee benefits expense by approximately $600,000 annually, before tax.