BLUEFIELD, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 18, 2003--The Board of
Directors of First Community Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq:FCBC)
(www.fcbinc.com) recently declared its Fourth Quarter dividend to
stockholders. The dividend, in the amount of $.25 per common share,
represents an increase of 10.0% over the $0.227 per share (adjusted
for the recent 10% stock dividend) paid in the Fourth Quarter of 2002.
The increase is indicative of continued strong earnings by the Company
and its subsidiary bank, First Community Bank, N. A. The Fourth
Quarter dividend is payable to stockholders of record December 1,
2003, and is expected to be paid on or about December 15, 2003. The
Fourth Quarter dividend, when annualized, represents a yield on the
$35.50November 17, 2003 closing price of approximately 2.8%.
First Community Bancshares, Inc. is a $1.7 billion bank holding
company with headquarters in Bluefield, Virginia and the Parent of
First Community Bank, N. A. First Community Bank, N. A. operates with
47 full-service branches throughout Virginia, West Virginia and North
Carolina and two trust and investment management offices.
First Community Bank, N. A. also owns United First Mortgage, Inc.,
based in Richmond, Virginia, which operates 10 offices from Virginia
Beach to Harrisonburg, Virginia, as well as Stone Capital Management,
Inc., an investment advisory firm based in West Virginia.
First Community Bancshares, Inc.'s common stock is traded on the
Nasdaq National Market under the symbol, "FCBC."
DISCLAIMER
This news release may include forward-looking statements. These
forward- looking statements are based on current expectations that
involve risks, uncertainties, and assumptions. Should one or more of
these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying
assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may differ materially.
These risks include: the timely development, production and acceptance
of new products and services and their feature sets; the challenge of
managing asset/liability levels; the management of credit risk and
interest rate risk; the difficulty of keeping expense growth at modest
levels while increasing revenues; and other risks detailed from time
to time in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission reports,
including but not limited to the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the
most recent year ended. Pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation
Act of 1995, the Company does not undertake to update forward-looking
statements contained within this news release.
CONTACT: First Community Bancshares, Inc.
Robert L. Schumacher, 276-326-9000
SOURCE: First Community Bancshares, Inc.