Southern First Reports First Quarter 2026 Results

GREENVILLE, S.C., April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFST) (Southern First), today announced its financial results for the three months ended March 31, 2026. Strong loan growth and continued margin expansion drove year-over-year net interest income growth of 29%. Net income was $9.9 million and diluted earnings per share was $1.19, representing a $0.54, or 83%, increase over the first quarter of 2025, and relatively unchanged from the fourth quarter of 2025. Return on average assets was 0.91%, up 39 basis points over the first quarter of last year, and tangible common equity to assets was 8.29%, up 41 basis points from the first quarter of 2025. Net charge-offs were approximately $50 thousand, or 0.01% of average loans, annualized, consistent with linked quarter and year-over-year results. Nonperforming assets were 0.26% of total assets, down from 0.32% for the fourth quarter. Provision for credit losses increased by $650 thousand, and the allowance for credit losses represented 1.10% of loans, consistent with the past several quarters.

"We are excited to report our first quarter 2026 results which include record retail deposit growth of nearly $210 million, representing a 27% annualized growth rate. Our first quarter 2026 net income was $9.9 million and is 88% higher than the same quarter last year. We have tremendous momentum in growing client relationships and raised additional capital in the form of common equity this quarter to support our growth expectations," stated Art Seaver, Chief Executive Officer.

On April 15, 2026, Southern First announced an underwritten public offering of 1,050,000 shares of common stock and granted the underwriters an option to purchase up to 157,500 additional shares. The offering closed on April 17, 2026, with a total of 1,207,500 shares issued at $54.00 per share for aggregate gross proceeds of approximately $65.2 million before discounts and expenses. The Company intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, which may include supporting organic growth initiatives, providing capital to the Company's bank subsidiary, redeeming or repurchasing outstanding indebtedness, including subordinated debt, and for working capital purposes.

Financial Highlights – First Quarter 2026:

Earnings

Balance Sheet

Asset Quality

ABOUT SOUTHERN FIRST BANCSHARES
Southern First Bancshares, Inc., Greenville, South Carolina is a registered bank holding company incorporated under the laws of South Carolina. The company's wholly owned subsidiary, Southern First Bank, is the second largest bank headquartered in South Carolina. Southern First Bank has been providing financial services since 1999 and now operates in 12 locations in the Greenville, Columbia, and Charleston markets of South Carolina as well as the Charlotte, Triangle and Triad regions of North Carolina and Atlanta, Georgia. Southern First Bancshares has consolidated assets of approximately $4.6 billion and its common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol "SFST."  More information can be found at www.southernfirst.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
Certain statements in this news release contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to future plans and expectations, and are thus prospective. Such forward-looking statements are identified by words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "preliminary", "intend," "plan," "target," "continue," "lasting," and "project," as well as similar expressions. Such statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although we believe that the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements are reasonable, any of the assumptions could prove to be inaccurate. Therefore, we can give no assurance that the results contemplated in the forward-looking statements will be realized. The inclusion of this forward-looking information should not be construed as a representation by our company or any person that the future events, plans, or expectations contemplated by our company will be achieved.

The following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from the anticipated results or other expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements: (1) competitive pressures among depository and other financial institutions may increase significantly and have an effect on pricing, spending, third-party relationships and revenues; (2) the strength of the United States economy in general and the strength of the local economies in which the company conducts operations may be different than expected; (3) the rate of delinquencies and amounts of charge-offs, the level of allowance for credit loss, the rates of loan and deposit growth as well as pricing of each product, or adverse changes in asset quality in our loan portfolio, which may result in increased credit risk-related losses and expenses; (4) changes in legislation, regulation, policies, or administrative practices, whether by judicial, governmental, or legislative action, including, but not limited to, changes affecting oversight of the financial services industry or consumer protection; (5) the impact of changes to Congress and the office of the President on the regulatory landscape and capital markets; (6) adverse conditions in the stock market, the public debt market and other capital markets (including changes in interest rate conditions) could continue to have a negative impact on the company; (7) changes in interest rates, which may continue to affect the company's net income, interest expense, prepayment penalty income, mortgage banking income, and other future cash flows, or the market value of the company's assets, including its investment securities; (8) trade wars, government shutdowns, or a potential recession which may cause adverse risk to the overall economy, and could indirectly pose challenges to our clients and to our business; (9) any increase in FDIC assessments which have increased and may continue to increase our cost of doing business; and (10) changes in accounting principles, policies, practices, or guidelines. Additional factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in our reports (such as Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K) filed with the SEC and available at the SEC's Internet site (http://www.sec.gov). All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the company or any person acting on its behalf are expressly qualified in its entirety by the cautionary statements above. We do not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect circumstances or events that occur after the date the forward-looking statements are made, except as required by law.

MEDIA CONTACT:
ART SEAVER  864-679-9010

FINANCIAL CONTACT:
CHRIS ZYCH 864-679-9070

WEB SITE: www.southernfirst.com

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SOURCE Southern First Bancshares, Inc.