EXHIBIT 99.1

 

FOR RELEASE: November 1, 2013

Lisa F. Campbell

Executive Vice President

Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer

Office: 910-892-7080 and Direct: 910-897-3660

lisac@NewCenturyBankNC.com

NewCenturyBankNC.com

NEW CENTURY BANCORP REPORTS

THIRD QUARTER 2013 EARNINGS

Third quarter sees Company post year-to-date net income of $2.7 million and announce strategic merger with Select Bancorp, Inc.

DUNN, NC . . . New Century Bancorp (the “Company” NASDAQ: NCBC), the holding company for New Century Bank, today reported net income of $650,000 for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, and basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.09, compared to net income of $632,000 and basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.09 for the third quarter of 2012. For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, net income was $2.7 million with basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.39, compared to $3.9 million and basic and diluted earnings per share of $0.57 for the nine months ended September 30, 2012, a period that reflected New Century’s benefit from both a substantial loan recovery and a gain on the sale of branches in Pembroke and Raeford, NC.

Total assets, deposits, and loans for the Company as of September 30, 2013, were $545.0 million, $459.8 million, and $349.1 million, respectively, compared to total assets of $577.8 million, total deposits of $481.3 million, and total loans of $386.1 million as of the same date in 2012.

At the end of third quarter/early fourth quarter 2013, New Century made the following announcements:

· New Century Bancorp and Select Bancorp, Inc., the holding company for Select Bank & Trust Company, signed a strategic merger agreement on September 30, 2013. Subject to the approval of federal and state regulatory agencies and shareholders of both companies, plans call for the merger to close in mid-2014.

· New Century Bank opened its first full-service office in Raleigh, the capital of North Carolina, on October 1, 2013, establishing a branch presence in the Wake County market. The branch is located at 8470 Falls of Neuse Road, near the I-540 interchange.

Commenting on third quarter results, New Century President and CEO William L. Hedgepeth II said, “We are pleased with our performance results to-date in 2013. While challenges persist in both the regulatory environment and the U.S. economy, we are meeting those challenges in a focused, disciplined manner. We look forward to our planned partnership with Select Bancorp, and the additional markets and customers we will serve as a result. This is an exciting time for not only New Century, but for Select and all of our shareholders, customers and communities, as we come together to form one larger, stronger community bank.

“I would be remiss to not note that when the FDIC released deposit market share data as of June 30, 2013, New Century Bank once again held the #1 position for deposit market share in Dunn, North Carolina, our headquarters city. Our staff takes a great deal of pride in having held this position for eleven straight years, as they should.

They are to be commended on their hard work and this result. While this is a particularly outstanding record, many of our branches are highly ranked in their respective cities and counties with regard to deposit market share, including, that we hold the #1 position among community banks in Cumberland, Harnett, and Sampson counties. The staff members at offices in these counties also are to be congratulated.”

New Century Bank has branch offices in these North Carolina communities: Dunn, Clinton, Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Lillington, Lumberton, and Raleigh, and a loan production office in Greenville.

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The information as of and for the quarter ended September 30, 2013, as presented is unaudited. This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, without limitation, (i) statements regarding certain of our goals and expectations with respect to earnings, earnings per share, revenue, expenses and the growth rate in such items, as well as other measures of economic performance, including statements relating to estimates of credit quality trends, and (ii) statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words “may,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” “projects,” “outlook” or similar expressions. The actual results might differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements for various reasons, including, but not limited to, our ability to manage growth, substantial changes in financial markets, regulatory changes, changes in interest rates, loss of deposits and loan demand to other savings and financial institutions, and changes in real estate values and the real estate market. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to materially differ from those in the forward-looking statements is contained in the Company’s SEC filings, including its periodic reports under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, copies of which are available upon request from the Company.

New Century Bancorp, Inc.

Selected Financial Information and Other Data

($ in thousands, except per share data)

	At or for the three months ended													At or for the nine months ended
	September 30, 2013			June 30, 2013			March 31, 2013			December 31, 2012		September 30, 2012		September 30, 2013			September 30, 2012			September 30, 2011
Summary of Operations:
Total interest income	$	5,600		$	5,968		$	5,878		$	5,990	$	6,198	$	17,447		$	19,142		$	23,297
Total interest expense		1,299			1,355			1,418			1,552		1,623		4,072			5,080			6,522
Net interest income		4,301			4,613			4,460			4,438		4,575		13,375			14,062			16,775
Provision for loan losses		(130	)		(375	)		(100	)		-		189		(605	)		(2,597	)		5,900
Net interest income after provision		4,431			4,988			4,560			4,438		4,386		13,980			16,659			10,875
Noninterest income		624			755			619			1,015		757		1,997			2,582			2,176
Noninterest expense		3,912			3,756			3,921			4,201		4,170		11,590			13,034			14,531
Income before income taxes		1,143			1,987			1,258			1,252		973		4,387			6,207			(1,480	)
Provision for income taxes (benefit)		493			728			465			517		341		1,685			2,305			(718	)
Net income	$	650		$	1,259		$	793		$	735	$	632	$	2,702		$	3,902		$	(762	)
Share and Per Share Data:
Earnings per share - basic	$	0.09		$	0.18		$	0.12		$	0.11	$	0.09	$	0.39		$	0.57		$	(0.11	)
Earnings per share - diluted	$	0.09		$	0.18		$	0.12		$	0.11	$	0.09	$	0.39		$	0.57		$	(0.11	)
Book value per share	$	8.09		$	8.00		$	7.93		$	7.84	$	7.76	$	8.09		$	7.76		$	7.14
Tangible book value per share	$	8.06		$	7.97		$	7.89		$	7.79	$	7.72	$	8.06		$	7.72		$	7.05
Ending shares outstanding		6,921,352			6,921,352			6,916,506			6,913,636		6,913,636		6,921,352			6,913,636			6,860,367
Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic		6,921,352			6,921,352			6,914,934			6,913,636		6,913,636		6,917,958			6,892,946			6,896,102
Diluted		6,924,142			6,922,942			6,916,011			6,914,345		6,914,085		6,919,507			6,893,064			6,896,102
Selected Performance Ratios:
Return on average assets		0.47%			0.91%			0.56%			0.50%		0.44%		0.64%			0.91%			-0.16%
Return on average equity		4.61%			9.09%			5.86%			5.37%		4.69%		6.52%			9.98%			-2.03%
Net interest margin		3.41%			3.61%			3.37%			3.33%		3.49%		3.46%			3.61%			3.85%
Efficiency ratio (1)		79.43%			69.97%			77.20%			77.04%		78.21%		75.39%			78.31%			76.68%
Period End Balance Sheet Data:
Loans, held for sale	$	-		$	406		$	432		$	-	$	-	$	-		$	-		$	-
Loans, net of unearned income		349,087			355,651			360,431			367,892		386,096		349,087			386,096			439,410
Total Earning Assets		505,489			499,819			523,675			543,674		525,962		505,489			525,962			564,928
Core Deposit Intangible		211			240			269			298		327		211			327			583
Total Assets		545,018			550,008			567,517			585,453		577,833		545,018			577,833			616,580
Deposits		459,811			465,489			482,983			498,559		481,320		459,811			481,320			527,172
Short term debt		14,207			13,858			14,658			17,848		26,195		14,207			26,195			23,850
Long term debt		12,372			12,372			12,372			12,372		12,372		12,372			12,372			14,372
Shareholders' equity		55,991			55,403			54,840			54,179		53,671		55,991			53,671			48,949
Selected Average Balances:
Gross Loans	$	347,142		$	359,559		$	365,871		$	375,413	$	386,217	$	357,456		$	397,099		$	458,676
Total Earning Assets		500,079			512,953			537,230			530,344		520,852		516,618			520,492			582,777
Core Deposit Intangible		223			252			283			310		339		252			415			640
Total Assets		548,460			557,298			577,092			580,974		569,048		560,995			572,482			629,372
Deposits		462,994			472,986			489,150			485,844		474,069		474,948			480,492			537,884
Short term debt		13,929			13,851			18,215			23,961		24,609		14,832			24,018			22,075
Long term debt		12,372			12,372			12,372			12,372		12,372		12,372			12,372			16,372
Shareholders' equity		55,911			55,529			54,890			54,352		53,619		55,447			52,239			50,299
Asset Quality Ratios:
Nonperforming loans	$	17,400		$	15,656		$	11,180		$	12,030	$	18,613	$	17,400		$	18,613		$	20,116
Other real estate owned		2,164			2,370			2,340			2,833		2,849		2,164			2,849		$	3,230
Allowance for loan losses		6,858			7,218			7,775			7,897		8,588		6,858			8,588		$	10,338
Nonperforming loans (2) to period-end loans (4)		4.98%			4.40%			3.10%			3.27%		4.82%		4.98%			4.82%			4.58%
Allowance for loan losses to period-end loans (4)		1.96%			2.03%			2.16%			2.15%		2.22%		1.96%			2.22%			2.35%
Delinquency Ratio (3)		0.16%			0.87%			0.79%			0.32%		0.47%		0.16%			0.47%			0.93%
Net loan charge-offs to average loans		0.26%			0.20%			0.02%			0.85%		0.11%		0.16%			-0.42%			-0.37%

(1)	Efficiency ratio is calculated as non-interest expenses divided by the sum of net interest income and non-interest income.
(2)	Nonperforming loans consist of non-accrual loans and restructured loans.
(3)	Delinquency Ratio includes 30-89 days past due and excludes non-accrual loans.
(4)	Excludes loans held for sale