Peoples Bancorp Announces Third Quarter EPS of $.10

Peoples Bancorp of North Carolina, Inc. PEBK reported net earnings of $540,000 or $0.10 basic and diluted net earnings per share, before adjustment for preferred stock dividends and accretion, for the three months ended September 30, 2010 as compared to $300,000, or $0.05 basic and diluted net earnings per share, for the same period one year ago. After adjusting for dividends and accretion on preferred stock, net earnings available to common shareholders for the three months ended September 30, 2010 were $192,000, or $0.03 basic and diluted net earnings per common share as compared to $48,000 net loss available to common shareholders, or $0.01 basic and diluted net loss per common share, for the same period one year ago. The Company recognized a $479,000 net loss from recurring operations for the three months ended September 30, 2010, or $0.09 basic and diluted net loss per share, before adjustment for preferred stock dividends and accretion, as compared to third quarter 2009 net earnings from recurring operations of $670,000, or $0.12 basic and diluted net earnings per share. Tony W. Wolfe, President and Chief Executive Officer, attributed the decrease in third quarter recurring earnings to an increase in provision for loan losses.