Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success ANNUAL REPORT

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Erica Roberts
6 years ago
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1 Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success. H E N R Y F O R D 2010 ANNUAL REPORT

2 Dear Shareholder, After several consecutive years of record earnings we saw the storm clouds on the horizon last year as our earnings dropped nearly in half due to increases in loan loss reserves and real estate owned (REO). I felt that we could navigate around the turbulence; however, the economy declined at a greater rate than anticipated and we are regrettably reporting a loss of $2,457,796 or $2.41 a share for the year. For the year, we expensed $6,887,929 in loan loss reserves and REO write-downs and expenses. This number is about $6.5 million more than our historical average (2005 through 2008) for these expenses. Clearly, job one is reducing non-performing loans and REO. We believe we are adequately reserved in this critical area and have seen some progress as problem assets began leveling off this spring and we have moved a number of REO properties in the past quarter. In addition to reducing non-performing loans, we need to maintain adequate levels of capital and liquidity as well as return to profitability. At year end, the bank s risk weighted capital ratio was 12.2%. Anything above 10.0% is considered well capitalized, the highest grade of capitalization that can be obtained. At our fiscal year end, 9.54% of assets in the bank were in cash and 10.50% were held in investments available for sale. We monitor this important area regularly and believe the company is positioned to have more than adequate liquidity available. During the past year, we have initiated several expense control measures in order to improve our profitability. We have reduced our number of employees to fewer than we had five years ago even though our company s assets have grown by 50% during this period. We negotiated with several vendors and third party service providers to figure out ways to reduce expenses. We have also reduced benefits and compensation in some areas, beginning with the directors and myself, and temporarily suspended dividends to shareholders. We are seeing solid increases in cross-selling activities and sales throughout the company. Last year s annual report announced our branding change which we had been developing for some time. While the economy has clearly diverted our attention I believe we are gaining some traction from these changes. We had good net deposit growth last year of $7,662,989 or 3.51%. The most encouraging part of this was that all our growth was in core deposits, which grew $8,056,958 or 9.74%. We had positive operating performance in our insurance area even though the industry experienced a soft commercial insurance market in terms of pricing and activity. Finally, we are focusing on the need to generate more non-interest income. We are having success with the relationship model developed through our branding initiative. It is geared toward generating more product sales with our existing customer base and we have been very pleased with the increase in sales between insurance, bank, and investments. Bankers review many company financial statements, and the natural thing to do is to look at the bottom line to determine a company s profitability. However, after doing this for a while you know that it is important to dig deeper and see the rest of the story. Did sales increase or decrease? What was the trend in expense items? What type of significant balance sheet changes are there? And, most importantly, how 2 - LIFESTORE FINANCIAL GROUP

The goal of LifeStore Financial Group is to provide an exceptional customer experience. In order to do this, we need to remain an independent financial services company located close to our customers.

3 The goal of LifeStore Financial Group is to provide an exceptional customer experience. In order to do this, we need to remain an independent financial services company located close to our customers. would these impact the future of the company? When I look at our numbers obviously the growth in problem assets created charge offs and significant increases in allowance for loan losses (ALL) and REO expense items. These items exceeded the before tax loss by well over two million dollars. The REO and non-accrual assets had a hidden cost in lost revenue as these assets failed to produce earnings. The balance sheet grew six million dollars and all of the deposit growth was in core deposits. These items combined with expense reductions throughout the second half of the year have positioned us to increase our net interest margin and show additional improvement in operating efficiencies. The fundamentals are in place for our company to do well as the economy improves. The government is reporting that we have now been out of the recession for the past year. Outside of economists, I m not sure many of us have noticed the recovery. We are seeing some encouraging signs, but growth in non-government employment needs to happen before we are all going to feel better about what is transpiring. Second homes and tourism are large parts of our local economy. The real estate market has seen a significant downward adjustment to values. These new realities are just now being acknowledged by some property owners; many existing properties are selling well below the cost of new construction, so there are adjustments yet to come. Tourism, on the other hand, has only declined slightly and has actually shown some growth this year. Clearly the economy will continue to be the big story. When will the jobs come back? Will we experience a double dip? I don t know, and clearly these factors will impact us as well as all other industries in this country. However, when I look at our fundamentals and recent trends I m very encouraged that we have been tested and have come out the other side in good position to grow and prosper in the future. Thank you for your investment and faith in our company. Robert Washburn President and Chief Executive Officer ROBERT WASHBURN President and Chief Executive Officer 2010 ANNUAL REPORT - 3

Our employees remain dedicated to delivering unequaled personal service.

4 Experience the LifeStore Brand Developing Our Image. On September 28, 2009 we left behind the many variations and brand combinations of AF Financial Group and became LifeStore Financial Group. We may have a new name and new colors, but the values we have held for 71 years are as strong today as they were when we began business in Our employees remain dedicated to delivering unequaled personal service. Part of our new brand has involved bringing employees from different job functions and families together to match products to the life events of their customers. LifeStore is all about being there for our customers and their needs, no matter what life has in store. One way we are matching products to our customers life events is through MyLifePlan, an online tool designed around seven key life events. We provide checklists, suggestions and resources for starting out, your first job, weddings, buying a home, pregnancy and parenthood, retirement and the unexpected what if s that come up in life. We believe that MyLifePlan, along with other aspects of our new brand, will be beneficial for our customers as well as our business s success going forward. Serving the Community. AF Financial Group has always been a part of the communities it has served, and that commitment has not changed now that we are LifeStore. Our employees continue to serve on local boards, volunteer at schools and lead fund raising efforts for many worthwhile causes. At a company-wide level, we remain committed to supporting civic groups, 4-H projects, community service groups, arts and cultural programs, youth recreation and many other causes that improve the quality of life for this area. During 2010, we partnered with the Seby Jones Regional Cancer Center in Boone as the primary sponsor for their Tour du Life, a bicycle ride The LifePlan Center is a resource to share with our customers. benefiting outpatient services for cancer patients in this area. Over two hundred athletes from all across the country participated in this event. The LifeStore Community calendar posts events from across the region. To further support community events across the High Country, we launched the LifeStore Community Calendar. It is available on our company website at and also on the digital media players inside many of our lobbies. The calendar lists details of upcoming events in the area, including blood drives, art programs and other community events. We understand the communities we serve and realize the positive impact that local events can have on the community. For LifeStore to grow and prosper as a company, we know our local communities must grow and prosper as well. 4 - LIFESTORE FINANCIAL GROUP

While the recent economic environment has presented challenges to banks nationwide, we know that our success lies in focusing on the needs of our customers.

5 Building Relationships. Over the past year, we have focused on fostering relationships with our existing customers and delivering on the brand promise, identified nearly a year ago. We understand our markets and realize the importance of offering full service banks in each of the communities we serve. We believe people still like to be called by name and enjoy personal service. While the recent economic environment has presented challenges to banks nationwide, we know that our success lies in focusing on the needs of our customers. Where many banks have struggled, we experienced an increase of over eight million dollars in core deposits from June 30, 2009 to June 30, This growth can be attributed to the dedication of our deposit group in maintaining and growing the relationships we have with our customers. For the period from 2004 to 2009, LifeStore was one of the only banks with deposits over $50 million to achieve growth in market share for the combined markets of Ashe, Alleghany and Watauga Counties. While other industry leaders in our area have lost market share over the five year period we increased market share by 0.69%. LifeStore s Mt. Jefferson location. We believe people still like to be called by name and enjoy personal service. Finding Opportunities. The past year has been successful for LifeStore Insurance. We have been able to increase our workforce, diversify our product offerings and remain profitable during a time when the entire insurance industry has felt the impact of the economy. Our personal lines group experienced an increase in earnings for the year. We attribute our growth in this area to product sales to our existing customer base and the purchase of Royall-Cox Northwestern, a well known and established agency in Elkin, North Carolina in September We realize the importance of adding to our product offerings and expanding our customer base. When many of the small businesses in our area reduced their workforce and delayed plans for expansion and the start of new business fell to the wayside, our commercial group realized success with some new programs tailored to certain industries such as Christmas tree growers. Another area where we have reached a new level of success over the past year has been in life insurance, health insurance and annuities. This area grew by 32%, which helped to offset the decline in commercial sales. LifeStore programs support our local industries such as Christmas trees. We believe LifeStore Insurance will continue to experience success. We will remain dedicated to looking for opportunities to provide niche products and expand our footprint geographically ANNUAL REPORT - 5

6 (In thousands) Year Ended June 30, Selected Financial Condition Data: Total assets $300,882 $294,851 $277,711 $245,279 $229,355 Loans receivable, net 1 209, , , , ,939 Investment securities 2 33,947 41,538 32,372 18,747 5,249 Cash and cash equivalents 28,719 7,941 7,194 11,644 11,009 Savings deposits 226, , , , ,013 Borrowings 57,877 57,534 61,775 26,942 34,798 Equity 14,577 16,113 15,776 14,994 14,002 Book value per share Selected Operating Data: Interest income and dividends $14,214 $15,327 $16,872 $15,846 $13,676 Interest expense 5,656 7,501 8,698 8,282 5,808 Net interest income 8,558 7,826 8,174 7,564 7,868 Provision for loan losses 5,788 1, Net interest income after provision for loan losses 2,770 6,533 7,641 7,305 7,603 Non-interest income 5,209 5,750 4,994 4,742 4,422 Non-interest expense 12,440 11,353 10,539 9,894 10,340 Income (loss) before income tax expense (4,461) 930 2,096 2,153 1,685 Income tax expense (benefit) (2,003) Net income (loss) ($2,458) $843 $1,490 $1,471 $1,021 Year Ended June 30, Selected Ratios: Basic earnings per share of common stock ($2.41) $0.83 $1.43 $1.40 $0.97 Dividends per share Return on average assets -0.82% 0.29% 0.55% 0.61% 0.46% Return on average equity % 5.21% 9.41% 10.01% 7.58% Net interest margin % 3.07% 3.36% 3.54% 4.01% Efficiency ratio % 83.63% 80.04% 80.40% 84.13% Nonperforming loans to total loans 6.67% 4.33% 1.42% 0.70% 0.11% Allowance for loan losses to total loans 1.63% 1.18% 0.83% 0.84% 0.80% 1 Loans receivable, net is comprised of total loans less allowance for loan losses, loans sold, undisbursed loan funds and deferred loan fees. 2 Includes FHLB stock and investment securities. 3 The net interest margin represents net interest income as a percent of average interest-earning assets. 4 The efficiency ratio represents non-interest expense as a percentage of the sum of net interest income and non-interest income. 6 - LIFESTORE FINANCIAL GROUP

POWELL Public Relations Director, SkyLine Membership Corporation JAN R. CADDELL Vice Chairman of the Board, LifeStore Financial Group; President and General Manager, Caddell Broadcasting, Inc.

7 Board of Directors LifeStore Financial Group Board of Directors (L-R) KENNETH R. GREENE Principal Owner, Laurel Custom Homes DONALD R. MOORE Owner and Manager, McDonald s Restaurant of West Jefferson ROBERT E. WASHBURN President and Chief Executive Officer, LifeStore Financial Group and LifeStore Bank KAREN P. POWELL Public Relations Director, SkyLine Membership Corporation JAN R. CADDELL Vice Chairman of the Board, LifeStore Financial Group; President and General Manager, Caddell Broadcasting, Inc. CLAUDIA L. KELLEY, Ph.D. Professor of Accounting, Appalachian State University MICHAEL M. SHERMAN President and Chief Executive Officer, Zibra, LLC JIMMY D. REEVES Chairman of the Board, LifeStore Financial Group; Partner, Reeves Law Firm, PLLC WAYNE R. BURGESS Retired, Vice President and Manager of a West Jefferson Furniture Store ROBERT E. WASHBURN President and Chief Executive Officer JIMMY D. REEVES Chairman of the Board JERRY L. ROTEN Retired, Former Clerk of Superior Court of Ashe County 2010 ANNUAL REPORT - 7

8 P.O. Box 26 West Jefferson, NC Phone: (336) Toll-Free: (800) Fax: (336) West Jefferson - LifeStore Bank 205 South Jefferson Avenue West Jefferson, NC Jefferson - LifeStore Banking and Insurance 840 East Main Street Jefferson, NC Warrensville - LifeStore Bank 4951 NC Highway 88 West Warrensville, NC Sparta - LifeStore Banking and Insurance 403 South Main Street Sparta, NC Boone - LifeStore Banking and Insurance 1675 Blowing Rock Road Boone, NC Walmart (in store) - LifeStore Bank 1489 Mt. Jefferson Road West Jefferson, NC Mt. Jefferson - LifeStore Banking and Insurance 1441 Mt. Jefferson Road West Jefferson, NC West Jefferson - LifeStore Insurance 206 South Jefferson Avenue West Jefferson, NC North Wilkesboro - LifeStore Insurance and Mortgage 315 Main Street North Wilkesboro, NC Elkin - LifeStore Insurance 925 North Bridge Street Elkin, NC Lenoir - LifeStore Insurance and Mortgage 324 Morganton Boulevard SW Lenoir, NC West Jefferson - LifeStore Support Center 21 East Ashe Street West Jefferson, NC 28694

2017 Annual Report 1

2017 Annual Report 1 Dear Shareholders We are pleased to announce our financial results for the past year. Net income increased by 15.9% to $2,345,110, the seventh consecutive year of double digit earnings