Peoples restates earnings to account for more loan losses

BILOXI — Peoples Financial Corporation, parent of The Peoples Bank, has revised fourth quarter and 2011 earnings to account for an additional loan loss provision of $660,000, announced Chevis C. Swetman, chairman and CEO of the holding company and the bank.

As a result of the revisions, fourth quarter earnings totaled ($622,000) for the fourth quarter 2011 and $1.203 million for the full year.  The increase in the loan loss reserve and a reduction of $45,000 in the carrying value of real estate owned combined to reduce fourth quarter earnings by $500,000, net of taxes.

The adjustments were the result of new appraisals on real estate securing certain loans and on one parcel in the bank’s other real estate portfolio, said Swetman.

“We learned of these changes after we announced our annual earnings,” said Swetman, “which required us to allocate additional specific reserves as of Dec. 31, 2011,” he said.

After revisions, earnings per share for 2011 totaled $.23 per average weighted share, compared to $.29 per average weighted share in 2010. Earnings per share figures are based on average weighted shares outstanding of 5,136,918 and 5,151,661 for the twelve months ended Dec. 31, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

One effect of the restatement is to increase the bank’s primary capital ratio to 14.65%, six basis points higher than what was originally reported for 2011.