The First Bancshares, Inc. Reports a 40% Increase in Second Quarter 2015 Results and Declares Quarterly Dividends

Company Release - 7/17/2015 11:57 AM ET

HATTIESBURG, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: FBMS), holding company for The First, A National Banking Association, (www.thefirstbank.com) today reported quarterly net earnings available to common shareholders of $2.1 million for the second quarter of 2015, compared to net earnings available to common shareholders of $1.5 million reported for the second quarter of 2014, representing a 40% increase year over year. The Company also reported an increase of $0.2 million, or 10.5% in net earnings available to common shareholders for sequential quarters in 2015. Diluted earnings for the second quarter of 2015 were $0.39 per common share, compared to $0.29 per common share reported for the second quarter of 2014 and $0.36 per common share reported for the first quarter of 2015. First quarter 2015 net earnings included $84,000 of an after-tax gain on the sale of our branch location at 11281 Highway 49Gulfport, MS. Excluding this non-operating income, operating earnings per share for the first quarter of 2015 were $0.34.

M. Ray “Hoppy” Cole, President & Chief Executive Officer, commented, “We are excited about the Company’s performance posting a significant increase in profitability with strong growth throughout our footprint. We are encouraged by our results and will continue to look for opportunities to improve market share and increase our shareholder returns within the gulf south region.”

Balance Sheet

Consolidated assets decreased $28.5 million or 2.5% to total $1.1 billion for the quarter ended June 30, 2015. Total loans amounted to $731 million at June 30, 2015 and $716.4 million at March 31, 2015. Total loans increased $14.7 million or 2.0% for the second quarter 2015. The majority of the loan growth during the second quarter was in the C & I and residential real estate portfolios.

Total deposits decreased $22.5 million or 2.3% to total $962.1 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2015. The seasonality of our public fund portfolio contributed to this decrease.

Asset Quality

Nonperforming assets totaled $11.1 million at June 30, 2015, a decrease of $0.3 million compared to $11.4 million at March 31, 2015. The ALLL/total loans ratio was 0.88% at June 30, 2015 and 0.83% at March 31, 2015. Including valuation accounting adjustments on acquired loans, the total valuation plus ALLL was 1.16% of loans at June 30, 2015. The ratio of annualized net charge-offs (recoveries) to total loans was (0.07%) for the quarter ended June 30, 2015 compared to 0.18% for the quarter ended March 31, 2015. As noted in our first quarter 10-Q, the Company had been notified that a recovery of $941,000 was more likely than not expected during 2015. We received the first installment during the second quarter of 2015 which totaled $481,000.

Second Quarter 2015 vs. Second Quarter 2014 Earnings Comparison

Second quarter 2015 net earnings available to common shareholders totaled $2.1 million compared to $1.5 million for the second quarter of 2014. Revenues from consolidated operations increased $1.2 million in quarterly comparison. Net interest income increased $1.4 million in quarterly comparison as interest income earned on a higher volume of loans attributed to this overall increase. Noninterest income decreased $0.2 million in quarterly comparison from $2.1 million for the second quarter of 2014 to $1.9 million for the second quarter of 2015. During the second quarter of 2014, a gain of $0.3 million was realized on the sale of securities which attributed to the decrease in quarterly comparison.

Second quarter 2015 noninterest expenses increased $0.7 million or 9.6% as compared to second quarter 2014. Increases in salaries and employee benefits along with increases in occupancy expenses contributed $0.4 million. A majority of this increase can be attributed to the acquisition of Bay Bank that occurred at the beginning of the third quarter of 2014.

Fully taxable-equivalent (“FTE”) net interest income totaled $9.5 million and $8.1 million for the second quarter of 2015 and 2014, respectively. The FTE net interest income increased $1.4 million in prior year quarterly comparison primarily due to an increase in interest earned on loans. The purchase accounting adjustments had no impact on net interest income for the second quarter comparisons. Second quarter 2015 net interest margin of 3.71% includes 5 bps related to purchase accounting adjustments.

Investment securities totaled $249.9 million, or 22.4% of total assets at June 30, 2015, versus $276.1 million, or 27.4% of total assets at June 30, 2014. The average volume of investment securities decreased $9.6 million in prior year quarterly comparison. The average tax equivalent yield on investment securities increased 10 basis points, from 2.51% to 2.61%. The investment portfolio had a net unrealized gain of $0.7 million at June 30, 2015 as compared to $2.1 million at March 31, 2015 which accounted for the slight decrease in tangible book value.

The average yield on all earnings assets increased 18 basis points in prior year quarterly comparison, from 3.85% for the second quarter of 2014 to 4.03% for the second quarter of 2015.

Second Quarter 2015 vs First Quarter 2015 Earnings Comparison

In sequential-quarter comparison, net earnings available to common shareholders increased $0.2 million to $2.1 million as compared to $1.9 million for the first quarter.

Noninterest expenses increased $0.2 million in sequential-quarter comparison mainly consisting of increases in other professional services and marketing.

FTE net interest income increased $0.3 million to $9.4 million from $9.1 million in sequential-quarter comparison. The $0.4 million increase in loan income was impacted with accretion related to purchase accounting adjustments of only $0.1 million.

The average yield on all earnings assets increased 11 basis points in sequential-quarter comparison, from 3.92% for the first quarter of 2015 to 4.03% for the second quarter of 2015. Increased loan growth of approximately $23 million along with increases in fees contributed to the overall increase in the earning asset yield.

Other Events

The Company will make a presentation to bank stock analysts and investors at the Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Sixteenth Annual Community Bank Investor Conference 2015 at the Grand Hyatt Grand Central in New York, NY on Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at 8:30 a.m. Central Time. A live webcast of the presentation will be available at the company’s website www.thefirstbank.com under the investor Relations section. A replay of the presentation will be available for 90 days following the conference.

Dividends

The Board of Directors of The First Bancshares, Inc. announced a cash dividend was declared in the amount of $0.0375 per share to be paid on its common stock on August 24, 2015 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on August 7, 2015.

About The First Bancshares, Inc.

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

Forward Looking Statements

This news release contains statements regarding the projected performance of The First Bancshares, Inc. and its subsidiary. These statements constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. Actual results may differ materially from the projections provided in this release since such projections involve significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Factors that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to: competitive pressures among financial institutions increasing significantly; economic conditions, either nationally or locally, in areas in which the Company conducts operations being less favorable than expected; and legislation or regulatory changes which adversely affect the ability of the combined Company to conduct business combinations or new operations. 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. Further information on The First Bancshares, Inc. is available in its filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, available at the SEC’s website, http://www.sec.gov.


	FIRST BANCSHARES, INC and SUBSIDIARIES Condensed Consolidated Financial Information (unaudited) (in thousands expect per share data)
	EARNINGS DATA	Quarter Ended 6/30/15			Quarter Ended 3/31/15			Quarter Ended 12/31/14			Quarter Ended 9/30/14			Quarter Ended 6/30/14
	Total Interest Income	$	10,022		$	9,683		$	9,662		$	9,688		$	8,574
	Total Interest Expense		806			804			791			833			726
	Net Interest Income		9,216			8,879			8,871			8,855			7,848
	FTE net interest income		9,454			9,137			9,137			9,128			8,104
	Provision for loan losses		-			150			152			631			277
	Non-interest income		1,854			1,850			2,055			2,021			2,055
	Non-interest expense		8,092			7,818			8,051			8,071			7,384
	Earnings before income taxes		2,978			2,761			2,723			2,174			2,242
	Income tax expense		793			732			682			641			629
	Net earnings		2,185			2,029			2,041			1,533			1,613
	Dividends and accretion on preferred stock		86			85			86			85			86
	Net earnings available to common shareholders	$	2,099		$	1,944		$	1,955		$	1,448		$	1,527

	PER COMMON SHARE DATA
	Basic earnings per share	$	0.39		$	0.36		$	0.37		$	0.27		$	0.30
	Diluted earnings per share		0.39			0.36			0.36			0.27			0.29
	Diluted earnings per share, operating*		0.39			0.34			0.34			0.30			0.28
	Quarterly dividends per share		.0375			.0375			.0375			.0375			.0375
	Book value per common share at end of period		15.06			15.12			14.80			14.38			14.02
	Tangible book value at period end		12.35			12.40			12.04			11.58			11.49
	Market price at end of period		16.65			16.26			14.51			14.45			14.20
	Shares outstanding at period end		5,400,909			5,400,909			5,342,670			5,338,370			5,180,287
	Weighted average shares outstanding:
	Basic		5,366,495			5,358,576			5,314,743			5,311,876			5,152,784
	Diluted		5,424,242			5,415,100			5,357,644			5,349,686			5,180,019

	AVERAGE BALANCE SHEET DATA
	Total assets	$	1,119,648		$	1,127,349		$	1,073,287		$	1,065,080		$	1,015,679
	Loans and leases		728,416			705,752			678,252			655,582			598,293
	Total deposits		973,776			932,401			891,168			918,477			890,209
	Total common equity		79,986			79,722			73,335			72,916			70,357
	Total tangible common equity*		65,334			64,967			58,758			59,180			57,201
	Total equity		97,109			96,845			90,458			90,039			87,480

	SELECTED RATIOS
	Annualized return on avg assets		.78	%		.72	%		.76	%		.58	%		.64	%
	Annualized return on avg assets, operating*		.75	%		.66	%		.68	%		.60	%		.57	%
	Annualized return on avg common equity, operating*		10.50	%		9.33	%		9.88	%		8.81	%		8.18	%
	Annualized return on avg tangible common equity, oper*		12.85	%		11.45	%		12.34	%		10.86	%		10.06	%
	Average loans to average deposits		74.80	%		75.69	%		76.11	%		71.38	%		67.21	%
	Taxable-equivalent net interest margin		3.71	%		3.60	%		3.76	%		3.79	%		3.53	%
	Efficiency Ratio		71.56	%		71.16	%		71.94	%		72.39	%		72.68	%

	CREDIT QUALITY
	Allowance for loan losses (ALLL) as a % of total loans		.88	%		.83	%		.87	%		.91	%		.99	%
	Nonperforming assets to tangible equity + ALLL		12.33	%		12.70	%		13.29	%		13.29	%		16.13	%
	Nonperforming assets to total loans + ORE		1.51	%		1.58	%		1.64	%		1.69	%		2.18	%
	Annualized QTD net charge-offs (recoveries) to total loans		(0.07	%)		.18	%		.08	%		.33	%		.06	%
*See reconciliation of Non-GAAP financial measures


FIRST BANCSHARES, INC and SUBSIDIARIES Condensed Consolidated Financial Information (unaudited) (in thousands)
BALANCE SHEET	June 30, 2015			Mar 31, 2015			Dec 31, 2014			Sept 30, 2014			June 30, 2014
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	62,021		$	94,474		$	44,618		$	50,447		$	55,443
Securities available-for-sale		236,476			246,842			254,744			262,651			263,653
Securities held-to-maturity		7,651			7,829			8,193			8,411			8,421
Other investments		5,787			7,235			7,234			5,592			4,025
Total investment securities		249,914			261,906			270,171			276,654			276,099
Loans held for sale		1,864			1,657			2,103			3,769			3,220
Total loans		731,037			716,359			704,531			667,533			606,812
Allowance for loan losses		(6,419	)		(5,928	)		(6,095	)		(6,084	)		(5,999	)
Loans, net		724,618			710,431			698,436			661,449			600,813
Premises and equipment		33,571			33,769			34,810			35,079			31,339
Other Real Estate		4,116			4,598			4,654			4,986			4,875
Goodwill and other intangibles		14,591			14,691			14,791			14,363			13,108
Other assets		26,953			24,622			24,182			25,515			24,392
Total assets	$	1,117,648		$	1,146,148		$	1,093,768		$	1,072,262		$	1,009,289

Liabilities and Shareholders’ Equity
Non-interest bearing deposits	$	193,810		$	203,766		$	201,362		$	195,957		$	183,226
Interest-bearing deposits		768,289			780,877			691,413			711,558			700,646
Total deposits		962,099			984,643			892,775			907,515			883,872
Borrowings		43,991			49,446			89,450			49,456			13,500
Subordinated debentures		10,310			10,310			10,310			10,310			10,310
Other liabilities		2,814			2,708			5,017			11,117			11,830
Total liabilities		1,019,214			1,047,382			997,552			978,398			919,512
Total shareholders’ equity		98,434			98,766			96,216			93,864			89,777
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$	1,117,648		$	1,146,148		$	1,093,768		$	1,072,262		$	1,009,289


	FIRST BANCSHARES, INC and SUBSIDIARIES Condensed Consolidated Financial Information (unaudited) (in thousands except per share data)
	EARNINGS STATEMENT	Three Months Ended
	EARNINGS STATEMENT	6/30/15			3/31/15			12/31/14			9/30/14			6/30/14
	Interest Income:
	Loans, including fees	$	8,461		$	8,147		$	8,071		$	7,923		$	7,094
	Investment securities		1,474			1,512			1,534			1,623			1,453
	Accretion of purchase accounting adjustments		71			1			51			136			(3	)
	Other interest income		16			23			6			6			30
	Total interest income		10,022			9,683			9,662			9,688			8,574

	Interest Expense:
	Deposits		704			679			678			720			698
	Borrowings		102			127			114			99			97
	Subordinated debentures		46			45			46			45			45
	Accretion of purchase accounting adjustments		(46	)		(47	)		(47	)		(31	)		(114	)
	Total interest expense		806			804			791			833			726

	Net interest income		9,216			8,879			8,871			8,855			7,848
	Provision for loan losses		-			150			152			631			277
	Net interest income after provision for loan losses		9,216			8,729			8,719			8,224			7,571

	Non-interest Income:
	Service charges on deposit accounts		591			568			608			616			594
	Mortgage Income		357			334			445			522			407
	Interchange Fee Income		612			571			561			566			507
	Gain (loss) on securities, net		-			-			(4	)		(13	)		254
	Gain on sale of premises and equipment		-			110			-			-			-
	BEA award, net		-			-			223			-			-
	Other charges and fees		294			267			222			330			293
	Total non-interest income		1,854			1,850			2,055			2,021			2,055

	Non-interest expense:
	Salaries and employee benefits		4,613			4,626			4,551			4,554			4,260
	Occupancy expense		1,137			1,109			1,156			1,209			1,093
	FDIC premiums		241			241			271			222			222
	Marketing		161			62			160			94			87
	Amortization of core deposit intangibles		100			100			100			98			94
	Other professional services		379			258			412			429			456
	Other non-interest expense		1,461			1,422			1,401			1,465			1,172
	Total Non-interest expense		8,092			7,818			8,051			8,071			7,384
	Earnings before income taxes		2,978			2,761			2,723			2,174			2,242
	Income tax expense		793			732			682			641			629
	Net earnings		2,185			2,029			2,041			1,533			1,613
	Dividends and accretion on preferred stock		86			85			86			85			86
	Net earnings available to common shareholders	$	2,099		$	1,944		$	1,955		$	1,448		$	1,527

	Earnings per common share, diluted	$	0.39		$	0.36		$	0.36		$	0.27		$	0.29
	Operating earnings per common share, diluted*	$	0.39		$	0.34		$	0.34		$	0.30		$	0.28
*See reconciliation of Non-GAAP financial measures


FIRST BANCSHARES, INC and SUBSIDIARIES Condensed Consolidated Financial Information (unaudited) (in thousands)
COMPOSITION OF LOANS	June 30, 2015			Percent of Total		Mar 31, 2015			Dec 31, 2014			Sept 30, 2014			June 30, 2014			Percent of Total
Commercial, financial and agricultural	$	116,352		15.9	%	$	110,806		$	106,109		$	100,263		$	81,958		13.4	%
Real estate – construction		93,152		12.7	%		93,168			84,935			83,908			74,105		12.1	%
Real estate – commercial		245,537		33.4	%		242,969			238,602			217,684			204,101		33.5	%
Real estate – residential		259,610		35.6	%		254,844			256,406			248,125			230,310		37.8	%
Consumer		16,386		2.1	%		14,572			18,479			17,553			16,337		2.7	%
Loans held for sale		1,864		.3	%		1,657			2,103			3,769			3,220		0.5	%
Total loans	$	732,901		100	%	$	718,016		$	706,634		$	671,302		$	610.031		100	%

COMPOSITION OF DEPOSITS	June 30, 2015			Percent of Total		Mar 31, 2015			Dec 31, 2014			Sept 30, 2014			June 30, 2014			Percent of Total
Noninterest bearing	$	193,810		20.1	%	$	203,766		$	201,362		$	195,957		$	183,226		20.7	%
NOW and other		393,596		40.9	%		404,605			301,721			317,569			326,683		37.0	%
Money Market/Savings		185,033		19.2	%		183,048			183,633			183,068			171,842		19.4	%
Time Deposits of less than $100,000		77,815		8.1	%		80,606			85,365			86,897			80,144		9.1	%
Time Deposits of $100,000 or more		111,845		11.7	%		112,618			120,694			124,024			121,975		13.8	%
Total Deposits	$	962,099		100	%	$	984,643		$	892,775		$	907,515		$	883,872		100	%

ASSET QUALITY DATA	June 30, 2015					Mar 31, 2015			Dec 31, 2014			Sept 30, 2014			June 30, 2014
Nonaccrual loans	$	6,513				$	5,995		$	6,056		$	6,032		$	6,063
Loans past due 90 days and over		92					426			669			102			447
Total nonperforming loans		6,605					6,421			6,725			6,134			6,510
Other real estate		4,116					4,598			4,654			4,986			4,875
Nonaccrual securities		408					408			250			250			1,950
Total nonperforming assets	$	11,129				$	11,427		$	11,629		$	11,370		$	13,335

Nonperforming assets to total assets		1.00	%				1.00	%		1.06	%		1.06	%		1.32	%
Nonperforming assets to total loans + ORE		1.51	%				1.58	%		1.64	%		1.69	%		2.18	%
ALLL to nonperforming loans		97.18	%				94.66	%		90.63	%		99.18	%		92.15	%
ALLL to total loans		.88	%				.83	%		.87	%		.91	%		.99	%

Quarter-to-date net charge-offs (recoveries)	$	(490	)			$	316		$	141		$	546		$	89
Annualized QTD net chg/offs (recs) to loans		(0.07	%)				.18	%		.08	%		.33	%		.06	%


FIRST BANCSHARES, INC and SUBSIDIARIES Condensed Consolidated Financial Information (unaudited) (in thousands)



Yield	Three Months Ended						Three Months Ended						Three Months Ended						Three Months Ended						Three Months Ended
Analysis	June 30, 2015						March 31, 2015						December 31, 2014						September 30, 2014						June 30, 2014
			Tax						Tax						Tax						Tax						Tax
	Avg		Equivalent		Yield/		Avg		Equivalent		Yield/		Avg		Equivalent		Yield/		Avg		Equivalent		Yield/		Avg		Equivalent		Yield/
	Balance		interest		Rate		Balance		interest		Rate		Balance		interest		Rate		Balance		interest		Rate		Balance		interest		Rate

Taxable securities	$	179,580	$	991	2.21	%	$	184,401	$	992	2.15	%	$	189,691	$	998	2.10	%	$	201,194	$	1,072	2.13	%	$	183,976	$	937	2.04	%
Tax-exempt securities		79,568		702	3.53	%		81,717		759	3.72	%		84,413		783	3.71	%		86,498		802	3.71	%		84,813		753	3.55	%
Total investment securities		259,148		1,693	2.61	%		266,118		1,751	2.63	%		274,104		1,781	2.60	%		287,692		1,874	2.61	%		268,789		1,690	2.51	%
Fed funds sold		6,702		16	0.95	%		16,248		23	0.57	%		408		6	5.88	%		2,037		6	1.18	%		3,603		30	3.33	%

Int bearing deposits in other banks		24,089		19	0.32	%		27,430		19	0.28	%		18,270		19	0.42	%		16,854		22	0.52	%		47,210		19	0.16	%
Loans		728,416		8,532	4.69	%		705,752		8,148	4.62	%		678,252		8,122	4.79	%		655,582		8,059	4.92	%		598,293		7,091	4.74	%
Total Interest earning assets		1,018,355		10,260	4.03	%		1,015,548		9,941	3.92	%		971,034		9,928	4.09	%		962,165		9,961	4.14	%		917,895		8,830	3.85	%
Other assets		101,293						111,801						102,253						102,915						97,784
Total assets	$	1,119,648					$	1,127,349					$	1,073,287					$	1,065,080					$	1,015,679

Interest-bearing liabilities:
Deposits	$	772,837	$	658	0.34	%	$	736,199	$	632	0.34	%	$	693,657	$	630	0.36	%	$	723,911	$	688	0.38	%	$	711,936	$	584	0.33	%
Repo		5,000		48	3.84	%		5,000		48	3.84	%		5,000		49	3.92	%		5,000		49	3.92	%		5,000		48	3.84	%
Fed funds purchased		1,180		3	1.02	%		108		-	0.00	%		1,645		4	0.97	%		326		1	1.23	%		256		1	1.56	%
FHLB		27,117		51	0.75	%		78,892		78	0.40	%		63,040		62	0.39	%		28,038		50	0.71	%		9,802		48	1.96	%
Subordinated debentures		10,310		46	1.78	%		10,310		45	1.75	%		10,310		46	1.78	%		10,310		45	1.75	%		10,310		45	1.75	%
Total interest bearing liabilities		816,444		806	0.39	%		830,509		804	0.39	%		773,652		791	0.41	%		767,585		833	0.43	%		737,304		726	0.39	%
Other liabilities		206,095						199,995						209,177						207,456						190,895
Shareholders’ equity		97,109						96,845						90,458						90,039						87,480
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$	1,119,648					$	1,127,349					$	1,073,287					$	1,065,080					$	1,015,679

Net interest income (TE)			$	9,454	3.64	%			$	9,137	3.53	%			$	9,137	3.68	%			$	9,128	3.71	%			$	8,104	3.45	%

Net interest margin					3.71	%					3.60	%					3.76	%					3.79	%					3.53	%

Core net interest margin*					3.66	%					3.57	%					3.72	%					3.72	%					3.48	%


FIRST BANCSHARES, INC and SUBSIDIARIES Reconcilement of Non-GAAP Financial Measures (unaudited) (in thousands except per share data)
		Three Months Ended
Per Common Share Data		June 30, 2015			Mar 31, 2015			Dec 31, 2014			Sept 30, 2014			June 30, 2014
Book value per common share		$	15.06		$	15.12		$	14.80		$	14.38		$	14.02
Effect of intangible assets per share			2.71			2.72			2.76			2.80			2.53
Tangible book value per common share		$	12.35		$	12.40		$	12.04		$	11.58		$	11.49

Diluted earnings per share		$	0.39		$	0.36		$	0.36		$	0.27		$	0.29
Effect of gain on sale of other securities, after-tax			-			-			-			-			(0.03	)
Effect of gain on sale of bank premises, after-tax			-			(0.02	)		-			-			-
Effect of BAE, after-tax			-			-			(0.02	)		-			-
Effect of acquisition charges, after-tax			-			-			-			0.03			0.02
Diluted earnings per share, operating		$	0.39		$	0.34		$	0.34		$	0.30		$	0.28



		Three Months Ended
Average Balance Sheet Data		June 30, 2015			Mar 31, 2015			Dec 31, 2014			Sept 30, 2014			June 30, 2014
Total average assets	A	$	1,119,648		$	1,127,349		$	1,073,287		$	1,065,080		$	1,015,679

Total equity		$	97,109		$	96,845		$	90,458		$	90,039		$	87,480
Less preferred equity			17,123			17,123			17,123			17,123			17,123
Total common equity	B		79,986			79,722			73,335			72,916			70,357
Less intangible assets			14,652			14,755			14,577			13,736			13,156
Tangible common equity	C	$	65,334		$	64,967		$	58,758		$	59,180		$	57,201



		Three Months Ended
Core Net Interest Margin		June 30, 2015			Mar 31, 2015			Dec 31, 2014			Sept 30, 2014			June 30, 2014
Net interest income (TE)		$	9,454		$	9,137		$	9,137		$	9,128		$	8,104
Less purchase accounting adjustments			117			48			98			167			111
Net interest income, net of purchase accounting adj	D	$	9,337		$	9,089		$	9,039		$	8,961		$	7,993

Total average earning assets		$	1,018,355		$	1,015,548		$	971,034		$	962,165		$	917,895
Add average balance of loan valuation discount			1,727			1,730			1,780			852			201
Avg earning assets, excluding loan valuation discount	E	$	1,020,082		$	1,017,278		$	972,814		$	963,017		$	918,096

Core net interest margin	D/E		3.66	%		3.57	%		3.72	%		3.72	%		3.48	%



		Three Months Ended
Return Ratios		June 30, 2015			Mar 31, 2015			Dec 31, 2014			Sept 30, 2014			June 30, 2014
Net earnings	F	$	2,185		$	2,029		$	2,041		$	1,533		$	1,613
Dividends and accretion on preferred stock			86			85			86			85			86
Net earnings available to common shareholders			2,099			1,944			1,955			1,448			1,527
Gain on sale of other securities, after-tax			-			-			-			-			(183	)
Gain on sale of premises and equipment, after-tax			-			(84	)		-			-			-
BAE, after-tax			-			-			(165	)		-			-
Acquisition charges, after-tax			-			-			22			158			94
Net earnings available to common shareholders, oper	G	$	2,099		$	1,860		$	1,812		$	1,606		$	1,438

Annualized return on avg assets	F/A		.78	%		.72	%		.76	%		.58	%		.64	%
Annualized return on avg assets, oper	G/A		.75	%		.66	%		.68	%		.60	%		.57	%
Annualized return on avg common equity, oper	G/B		10.50	%		9.33	%		9.88	%		8.81	%		8.18	%
Annualized return on avg tangible common equity, oper	G/C		12.85	%		11.45	%		12.34	%		10.86	%		10.06	%

Certain financial information included in the earnings release and the associated Condensed Consolidated Financial Information (unaudited) is determined by methods other than in accordance with GAAP.

We use non-GAAP measures because we believe they are useful for evaluating our financial condition with a meaningful measure for assessing our financial condition as well as comparison to financial results for prior periods. These results should not be viewed as a substitute for results determined in accordance with GAAP, and are necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that other companies may use.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150717005608/en/

The First Bancshares, Inc.
M. Ray “Hoppy” Cole, 601-268-8998
Chief Executive Officer
or
Dee Dee Lowery, 601-268-8998
Chief Financial Officer

Source: The First Bancshares, Inc.

Press Release

The First Bancshares, Inc. Reports a 40% Increase in Second Quarter 2015 Results and Declares Quarterly Dividends