The First Bancshares, Inc. (“FBMS” or “the Company”) (NASDAQ: FBMS), holding company for The First, A National Banking Association, (www.thefirstbank.com) reported today net income available to common shareholders for the quarter ended June 30, 2021.

Highlights for the Quarter:

• Loans, excluding Paycheck Protection Program (”PPP”) loans, increased $45.5 million, 1.6% as compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2021, or 6.4% on an annualized basis.
• Net income available to common shareholders totaled $15.6 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, representing a decrease of $1.0 million, or 6.3%, compared to $16.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. A reduction in PPP fees of $1.6 million attributed to the decrease in net income in the sequential quarter comparison.
• Net income available to common shareholders operating for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 totaled $15.6 million which represents an increase of $4.4 million, or 38.9% as compared to $11.2 million for the second quarter of 2020.
• In year-over-year comparison, net income available to common shareholders increased $7.0 million, or 27.7%, from $25.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 to $32.2 million for the same period ended June 30, 2021.
• In year-over-year comparison, net income available to common shareholders operating increased $12.1 million, or 60.3%, from $20.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 to $32.2 million for the same period ended June 30, 2021.
• Total cost of deposits decreased 19% from 0.37% at quarter end March 31, 2021 to 0.30% at quarter end June 30, 2021.
• Total nonperforming assets decreased $8.7 million representing a 19% decrease as compared to second quarter 2020.
• Provision for credit losses totaled $0 for the quarter as compared to $0 for the sequential quarter comparison and $7.6 million for the second quarter of 2020.
• As of June 30, 2021, total COVID related modifications were $34.9 million, representing 1.2% of the loan portfolio and down from a peak of $676 million or 21% of the loan portfolio in 2020. For additional details related to the effects of COVID-19, see the investor presentation filed and available under presentations and press releases included in the investor relations section of the Company’s website: www.thefirstbank.com.
• During the first quarter of 2021, the Company adopted the Current Expected Credit Losses (“CECL”) methodology for estimating credit losses, effective January 1, 2021.

M. Ray “Hoppy” Cole, President and Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are pleased with our results for the second quarter. Our earnings remain strong and our team was thrilled to record $45 million in organic loan growth for the quarter. I am encouraged by our efforts to defend our loan to deposit spreads however, our net interest margin continues to be negatively impacted by substantial excess liquidity in this challenging interest rate environment.”

Quarterly Earnings

Net income available to common shareholders totaled $15.6 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, a decrease of $1.0 million, or 6.3%, compared to $16.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021. The Company recognized $1.6 million less in PPP loan fee income during the second quarter 2021 as compared to the first quarter 2021 along with a decrease of $0.8 million in mortgage income.

Net income available to common shareholders totaled $15.6 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, a decrease of $1.3 million, or 7.9%, compared to $16.9 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. A reduction in purchase accounting accretion of $1.1 million partially attributed to the decrease in net income as compared to the second quarter of 2020.

Provision for credit losses totaled $0 for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 and quarter ended March 31, 2021, a decrease of $7.6 million, or $5.9 million net of tax, as compared to the second quarter of 2020.

Earnings Per Share

For the second quarter of 2021, fully diluted earnings per share were $0.74, compared to $0.79 for the first quarter of 2021 and the second quarter of 2020. The decrease in sequential quarter comparison is due to the decrease in net income available to common shareholders of $1.0 million.

Diluted earnings per share operating increased $0.22 from $0.52 for second quarter of 2020 to $0.74 for second quarter of 2021 due to the increase in operating net earnings of $4.4 million for the same period.

Fully diluted earnings per share include the purchase by the Company of 165,623 shares during the first quarter of 2021 and 289,302 shares during the fourth quarter of 2020.

Balance Sheet

Consolidated assets increased $66.9 million to $5.510 billion at June 30, 2021 from $5.443 billion at March 31, 2021. PPP loans at June 30, 2021 were $157.8 million, down $63.9 million from March 31, 2021, due to loan forgiveness under the PPP program.

Total average loans were $3.043 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, as compared to $3.097 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, and $3.157 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, representing a decrease of $54.4 million, or 1.8%, for the sequential quarter comparison, and a decrease of $113.7 million, or 3.6%, for the prior year quarterly comparison. PPP loans averaged $180.3 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, $235.4 million for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, and $245.8 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2020.

Excluding the PPP loans, loans increased $45.5 million, or 1.6% as compared to the quarter ended March 31, 2021.

The $54.4 million decrease in average loans, for the sequential quarter comparison was largely related to the $55.1 million decrease in PPP loans over the same period.

Total average deposits were $4.629 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2021, as compared to $4.410 billion for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, and $4.069 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2020, representing an increase of $218.9 million, or 5.0%, for the sequential quarter comparison, and an increase of $559.9 million, or 13.8%, for the prior year quarterly comparison.

Average deposits increased $218.9 million, or 5.0% for the sequential quarter comparison of which $30.5 million is related to the seasonality of our public fund portfolio.

Average deposits increased $559.9 million, or 13.8% as compared to the quarter ended June 30, 2020 of which $119.9 is related to the seasonality of our public fund portfolio.

The Company implemented Deposit Reclassification at the beginning of 2020. This program reclassifies noninterest bearing deposits and NOW deposit balances to money market accounts. This program reduces our reserve balance required at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta which provides additional funds for liquidity and lending. At June 30, 2021, $711.7 million in noninterest deposit balances and $837.9 million in NOW deposit accounts were reclassified as money market accounts.

Asset Quality

Nonperforming assets totaled $37.0 million at June 30, 2021, an increase of $0.2 million compared to $36.8 million at March 31, 2021 and a decrease of $8.7 million compared to $45.7 million at June 30, 2020. Nonaccrual loans decreased $2.4 million as compared to March 31, 2021 and decreased $11.6 million as compared to June 30, 2020.

The ratio of the allowance for credit losses (ACL) to total loans was 1.07% at June 30, 2021 and March 31, 2021. The ratio of allowance for loan losses to total loans under the incurred loss model was 0.88% at June 30, 2020. The ratio of annualized net charge-offs (recoveries) to total loans was 0.03% for the quarter ended June 30, 2021 compared to 0.47% for the quarter ended March 31, 2021 and 0.04% for the quarter ended June 30, 2020.

Effective January 1, 2021, the Company adopted the CECL methodology for estimating credit losses. This adoption resulted in a net $0.4 million increase to the ACL and an unfunded commitment reserve of $0.7 million.

Second Quarter 2021 vs. Second Quarter 2020 Earnings Comparison

Net income available to common shareholders for the second quarter of 2021 totaled $15.6 million compared to $16.9 million for the second quarter of 2020, a decrease of $1.3 million or 7.9%. A reduction in purchase accounting accretion of $1.1 million partially attributed to the decrease in net income as compared to the second quarter of 2020.

Net interest income for the second quarter of 2021 was $38.1 million, a decrease of $1.1 million when compared to the second quarter of 2020. The decrease was due to interest income earned on a lower volume of loans and an overall reduction in the net interest margin. Fully tax equivalent (“FTE”) net interest income (non-GAAP) totaled $38.7 million and $39.8 million for the second quarter of 2021 and 2020, respectively. FTE net interest income (non-GAAP) decreased $1.1 million in the prior year quarterly comparison mainly due to decreased loan volume. Purchase accounting adjustments decreased $1.1 million for the second quarter comparisons. Second quarter of 2021 FTE net interest margin (non-GAAP) was 3.14% which included 9 basis points related to purchase accounting adjustments compared to 3.63% for the same quarter in 2020, which included 21 basis points related to purchase accounting adjustments. Excluding the purchase accounting adjustments, the core net interest margin (non-GAAP) decreased 37 basis points in prior year quarterly comparison.

Non-interest income decreased $6.9 million for the second quarter of 2021 as compared to the second quarter of 2020. This decrease is attributed to the $7.6 million bargain purchase gain and gain on sale of land recorded in the second quarter 2020.

Second quarter 2021 non-interest expense was $27.5 million, a decrease of $0.6 million, or 2.2% as compared to the second quarter of 2020. Excluding the net decrease in acquisition charges of $2.3 million for the quarterly comparison, non-interest expense increased $1.7 million in the second quarter of 2021, as compared to second quarter of 2020.

Investment securities totaled $1.303 billion, or 23.6% of total assets at June 30, 2021, versus $953.3 million, or 18.7% of total assets at June 30, 2020. The average balance of investment securities increased $313.7 million in the prior year quarterly comparison. The average tax equivalent yield on investment securities (non-GAAP) decreased 40 basis points to 2.15% from 2.55% in the prior year quarterly comparison. The investment portfolio had a net unrealized gain of $25.6 million at June 30, 2021 as compared to a net unrealized gain of $32.9 million at June 30, 2020.

The FTE average yield on all earning assets (non-GAAP) decreased 67 basis points in prior year quarterly comparison, from 4.23% for the second quarter of 2020 to 3.56% for the second quarter of 2021. Interest expense on average interest bearing liabilities decreased 21 basis points from 0.67% for the second quarter of 2020 to 0.46% for the second quarter of 2021. Cost of all deposits averaged 28 basis points for the second quarter of 2021 compared to 52 basis points for the second quarter of 2020.

Second Quarter 2021 vs First Quarter 2021 Earnings Comparison

Net income available to common shareholders for the second quarter of 2021 decreased $1.0 million to $15.6 million compared to $16.6 million for the first quarter of 2021.

Net interest income for the second quarter of 2021 was $38.1 million as compared to $39.2 million for the first quarter of 2021, a decrease of $1.2 million which is attributed to a decrease in PPP loan fee income of $1.6 million. FTE net interest income (non-GAAP) decreased $1.2 million to $38.7 million from $39.9 million in sequential-quarter comparison. Second quarter 2021 FTE net interest margin (non-GAAP) of 3.14% included 9 basis points related to purchase accounting adjustments compared to 3.34% for the first quarter in 2021, which also included 9 basis points related to purchase accounting adjustments. Excluding the purchase accounting adjustments, the core net interest margin (non-GAAP) decreased 19 basis point in sequential quarter comparison.

Investment securities totaled $1.303 billion, or 23.6% of total assets at June 30, 2021, versus $1.157 billion, or 21.3% of total assets at March 31, 2021. The average balance of investment securities increased $153.3 million in sequential-quarter comparison. The average tax equivalent yield on investment securities (non-GAAP) decreased 17 basis points to 2.15% from 2.32% in sequential-quarter comparison. The investment portfolio had a net unrealized gain of $25.6 million at June 30, 2021 as compared to a net unrealized gain of $21.7 million at March 31, 2021.

The FTE average yield on all earning assets (non-GAAP) decreased in sequential-quarter comparison from 3.84% to 3.56%. Interest expense on average interest bearing liabilities decreased 8 basis points from 0.54% for the first quarter of 2021 to 0.46% for the second quarter of 2021. Cost of all deposits averaged 28 basis points for the second quarter of 2021 compared to 36 basis points for the first quarter of 2021.

Non-interest income decreased $0.7 million in sequential-quarter comparison resulting from decreased mortgage income in the amount of $0.8 million.

Non-interest expense for the second quarter of 2021 was $27.5 million compared to $27.3 million for the first quarter of 2021, an increase of $0.2 million, which is attributed to the write-down on other real estate of $0.3 million.

Year-to-Date Earnings Comparison

In the year-over-year comparison, net income available to common shareholders increased $7.0 million, or 27.7%, from $25.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2020 to $32.2 million for the same period ended June 30, 2021. Excluding the bargain purchase and sale of land gains of $7.5 million, net of tax, and the decreased provision expense of $11.3 million, net of tax, net income available to common shareholders increased $3.1 million in the year-over-year comparison.

Net interest income increased $4.0 million in the year-over-year comparison, primarily due to interest income earned on a higher volume of loans and securities.

Non-interest income increased $3.8 million in the year-over-year comparison excluding the gains mentioned above. Mortgage income increased $1.3 million and interchange fee income increased $1.4 million in the year-over-year comparison.

Non-interest expense was $54.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2021 an increase of $3.2 million as compared to the same period ended June 30, 2020. An increase of $3.0 million in salaries and employee benefits contributed to the increase.

Declaration of Cash Dividend

The Company announced that its Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.15 per share to be paid on its common stock on August 25, 2021 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 10, 2021.

About The First Bancshares, Inc.

The First Bancshares, Inc., headquartered in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, is the parent company of The First, A National Banking Association (“The First”). Founded in 1996, The First has operations in Mississippi, Louisiana, Alabama, Florida and Georgia. The Company’s stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Market under the symbol FBMS. Information is available on the Company’s website: www.thefirstbank.com.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

Our accounting and reporting policies conform to generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) in the United States and prevailing practices in the banking industry. However, certain non-GAAP measures are used by management to supplement the evaluation of our performance. This press release includes operating efficiency ratio, pre-tax, pre-provision operating earnings, diluted operating earnings per common share, fully tax equivalent net interest income, fully tax equivalent net interest margin, core net interest margin, average tax equivalent yield on investment securities, fully tax equivalent average yield on all earning assets, total tangible common equity, tangible book value per common share and certain ratios derived from these non-GAAP financial measures. The Company believes that the non-GAAP financial measures included in this press release allow management and investors to understand and compare results in a more consistent manner for the periods presented in this press release. Non-GAAP financial measures should be considered supplemental and not a substitute for the Company’s results reported in accordance with GAAP for the periods presented, and other bank holding companies may define or calculate these measures differently. These non-GAAP financial measures should not be considered in isolation and do not purport to be an alternative to net income, earnings per share, net interest income, book value or other GAAP financial measures as a measure of operating performance. A reconciliation of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most comparable GAAP measure is provided in this press release following the Condensed Consolidated Financial Information (unaudited).

Forward Looking Statements

This news release and certain of our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission contain statements that constitute “forward looking statements” within the meaning of, and subject to the protections of, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements. Such statements can generally be identified by such words as “believes,” “anticipates,” “expects,” “may,” “will,” “assumes,” “should,” “predicts,” “could,” “would,” “intends,” “targets,” “estimates,” “projects,” “plans,” “potential,” “positioned” and other similar words and expressions of the future or otherwise regarding the outlook for the Company’s future business and financial performance and/or the performance of the banking industry and economy in general. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve known and unknown risk and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from the future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based on the information known to, and current beliefs and expectations of, the Company’s management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to: (1) competitive pressures among financial institutions increasing significantly; (2) changes in economic or political conditions, either nationally or locally, particularly in areas in which the Company conducts operations; (3) interest rate risk; (4) changes in applicable laws, rules, or regulations, including changes to statutes, regulations or regulatory policies or practices as a result of, or in response to COVID-19; (5) risks related to the Company’s recently completed acquisitions, including that the anticipated benefits from the recently completed acquisitions are not realized in the time frame anticipated or at all as a result of changes in general economic and market conditions or other unexpected factors or events; (6) changes in management’s plans for the future; (7) credit risk associated with our lending activities; changes in interest rates, loan demand, real estate values, or competition; (8) changes in accounting principles, policies, or guidelines; (9) adverse results from current or future litigation, regulatory examinations or other legal and/or regulatory actions, including as a result of the Company’s participation in and execution of government programs related to the COVID-19 pandemic; (10) the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s assets, business, cash flows, financial condition, liquidity, prospects and results of operations; (11) potential increases in the provision for loan losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic; and (12) other general competitive, economic, political, and market factors, including those affecting our business, operations, pricing, products, or services. These and other factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements, as well as a discussion of the risks and uncertainties that may affect our business, can be found in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and in other filings we make with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available on the SEC’s website, http://www.sec.gov. Undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update such factors or to publicly announce the results of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements included herein to reflect future events or developments.

Statements about the potential effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s assets, business, liquidity, financial condition, prospects, and results of operations may constitute forward-looking statements and are subject to the risks that the actual effects may differ, possibly materially, from what is reflected in these forward-looking statements due to factors and future developments that are uncertain, unpredictable and in many cases beyond our control, including the depth, dispersion and duration of the pandemic, actions taken by governmental authorities in response to the pandemic, and the direct and indirect impact of the pandemic on customers, employees, third parties and the Company.