First Bancorp: 4Q Earnings Snapshot

SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (AP) _ First Bancorp (FBNC) on Wednesday reported fourth-quarter earnings of $23.6 million.

The Southern Pines, North Carolina-based bank said it had earnings of 83 cents per share.

The results topped Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 76 cents per share.

The bank holding company for First Bank posted revenue of $79.3 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $76 million, also topping Street forecasts. Three analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $73.1 million.

For the year, the company reported profit of $81.5 million, or $2.81 per share. Revenue was reported as $299.5 million.

First Bancorp shares have climbed almost 2% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Wednesday, shares hit $34.40, a fall of 4% in the last 12 months.

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This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on FBNC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/FBNC