Limestone Bancorp Reports First Quarter 2023 Results

Limestone Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: LMST) (the “Company”), parent company of Limestone Bank, Inc. (the “Bank”), today reported unaudited results for the first quarter of 2023. Please see attached financial results and data tables for more information.

About Limestone Bancorp, Inc.

Limestone Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ: LMST) is a Louisville, Kentucky-based bank holding company which operates banking centers in 14 counties through its wholly-owned subsidiary Limestone Bank. The Bank’s markets include metropolitan Louisville in Jefferson County and the surrounding counties of Bullitt and Henry and extend south along the Interstate 65 corridor. The Bank serves south central, southern, and western Kentucky from banking centers in Barren, Butler, Daviess, Edmonson, Green, Hardin, Hart, Ohio, and Warren counties. The Bank also has banking centers in Lexington, Kentucky, the second largest city in the state, and Frankfort, Kentucky, the state capital. Limestone Bank is a traditional community bank with a wide range of personal and business banking products and services.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release relating to Limestone Bancorp’s plans, objectives, expectations or future performance are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “believe,” “may,” “should,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “objective,” “possible,” “seek,” “plan,” “strive” or similar words, or negatives of these words, identify forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Although the Company's management believes the assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements contained herein are reasonable, any of these assumptions could be inaccurate. Therefore, there can be no assurance the forward-looking statements included herein will prove to be accurate. Factors that could cause actual results to differ from those discussed in forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the Company’s pending merger transaction with Peoples Bancorp, Inc., merger-related expenses and requirements during the pendency of the merger transaction and conditions that must be satisfied for the merger transaction to be completed, including the receipt of required regulatory and shareholder approvals (all of which has been obtained); the impact and duration of the COVID-19 pandemic; economic conditions both generally and more specifically in the markets in which the Company and its subsidiaries operate; competition for the Company's customers from other providers of financial services; government legislation and regulation, which change from time to time and over which the Company has no control; changes in inflation and efforts to control it; changes in interest rates; material unforeseen changes in liquidity, results of operations, or financial condition of the Company's customers; and other risks detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the control of the Company. See Risk Factors outlined in the Company's Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.

The Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, which also constitutes the 2022 annual report to shareholders, is accessible at no cost on the Company’s website at www.limestonebank.com, under the Investor Relations section. Shareholders of the Company may receive a hard copy free of charge upon request to the Company at 2500 Eastpoint Parkway, Louisville, Kentucky 40223-4156, Attention: Investor Relations; (502) 499-4773.

Additional Information

Unaudited supplemental financial information for the first quarter ending March 31, 2023, follows.

Footnotes:

⁽¹⁾ Pretax, pre-provision income (PTPI) is a non-GAAP financial measure calculated by adjusting pretax income or income before income taxes to add back provision for credit losses. Management believes that PTPI is a useful financial measure as it enables the assessment of the Company’s ability to generate earnings to cover credit losses through a credit cycle and provides an additional basis for comparing results of operations between periods by isolating the impact of provision for credit losses, which can vary significantly between periods.

⁽²⁾ The efficiency ratio is a non-GAAP measure of expense control relative to revenue from net interest income and fee income. The efficiency ratio is calculated by dividing total non-interest expenses as determined under GAAP by net interest income and total non-interest income, but excluding from the calculation net gains on the sale of securities and expenses disclosed from time to time as non-recurring in nature. Management believes this provides a reasonable measure of primary banking expenses relative to primary banking revenue.

⁽³⁾ Effective January 1, 2023, the Company began accounting for credit losses under ASC 326, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (CECL). Adoption resulted in the establishment of an allowance for credit losses for held to maturity securities of $30,000, an increase in allowance for credit losses for loans of $586,000, an increase of the allowance for credit losses related to unfunded commitments of $24,000, which is recorded in other liabilities, and a reduction in retained earnings of $480,000, net of tax.

⁽⁴⁾ Investment Securities – The following table sets forth the amortized cost and fair value of the securities portfolio at the dates indicated.

⁽⁵⁾ The following table denotes contractual time deposit maturities and average rates as of March 31, 2023:

⁽⁶⁾ Tangible book value per common share is a non-GAAP financial measure derived from GAAP based amounts. Tangible book value per common share is calculated by excluding the balance of goodwill and other intangible assets from common stockholders’ equity. Tangible book value per common share is calculated by dividing tangible common equity by common shares outstanding, as compared to book value per common share, which is calculated by dividing common stockholders’ equity by common shares outstanding. Management believes this is consistent with bank regulatory agency treatment, which excludes goodwill and other intangible assets from the calculation of risk-based capital.

⁽⁷⁾ Loans by Risk Category reflect management’s risk ratings based on categories aligned with the bank regulatory definitions.

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