SFGR-20037 03 INSIDE Revised
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20032003 AnnAnnualual ReportReport CORPORATE TABLE Profile of Contents The South Financial Group, headquartered in Corporate Profile . Inside front cover Greenville, South Carolina, is a financial holding Financial Highlights . 1 company focused on fast-growing banking markets Message to Our Shareholders . 2 in the Southeast. Founded in 1986, it now has approximately $10.7 billion in total assets and Questions and Answers . 6 134 branch offices in South Carolina, North Carolina Focus. Discipline. Execution. 8 and Florida. The South Financial Group operates Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets . 14 through two subsidiary banks: Condensed Consolidated Income Statements . 15 • Carolina First Bank, the largest South Carolina- Selected Financial Data . 16 headquartered commercial bank, operates in Leadership . 20 South Carolina, North Carolina and on the Internet Boards of Directors . 22 under the brand name, Bank CaroLine, and Markets . 24 • Mercantile Bank, principally serving Jacksonville, Shareholder Summary . 26 Orlando and Tampa Bay, Florida. Company Information . Inside back cover The South Financial Group uses a super-community bank strategy serving small and middle market businesses and retail consumers by offering a full range of financial services, including cash management, investments, insurance and trust services. Its common stock trades on The Nasdaq Stock Market under the symbol TSFG. SUMMARY Annual Report The 2003 Annual Report is presented in a summary format intended to provide information in a concise, summarized manner that will be meaningful and useful to the widest range of readers. The audited financial statements and detailed analytical schedules are contained in The South Financial Group’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. FINANCIAL Highlights Total Revenue* $ ($ in millions) 400 ($ in thousands, except per share data) 350 2003 2002 % Change 300 EARNINGS AND DIVIDENDS Net interest income $ 272,591 $ 218,252 25 % 250 Noninterest income 95,490 59,640 60 200 Total revenue 368,081 277,892 32 150 Provision for loan losses 20,581 22,266 (8) Noninterest expenses, 100 excluding merger-related costs 202,043 156,176 29 50 Merger-related costs 5,127 6,664 n/m 0 Net income 95,058 59,158 61 03 02 01 Operating earnings (a) 89,232 63,500 41 00 99 Per share - diluted: 98 Net income $ 1.89 $ 1.38 37 * Net interest income plus noninterest income 5-year Compound Growth: 15% Operating earnings (a) 1.77 1.49 19 Cash dividends declared per share 0.57 0.50 14 RATIOS Earnings Per Share* $ Return on average assets 1.03 % 0.91 % (in dollars) 2.00 Return on average equity 13.40 11.89 Average balances: Assets $ 9,260,767 $ 6,497,607 43 % 1.50 Shareholders’ equity 709,139 497,341 43 AT YEAR END 1.00 Total assets $10,719,401 $ 7,941,010 35 % Loans held for investment 5,732,205 4,434,011 29 Securities 4,007,571 2,572,186 56 0.50 Shareholders’ equity 979,869 646,799 51 Book value per share $ 16.59 $ 13.66 21 0.00 Market price per share (Nasdaq) 27.75 20.66 34 03 02 ASSET QUALITY RATIOS 01 00 99 Nonperforming assets 1.06 % 1.67 % 98 Nonperforming assets, excluding * GAAP earnings per common share, diluted Rock Hill Bank & Trust Workout Loans (b) 0.72 1.03 5-year Compound Growth: 17% Net loan charge-offs 0.62 0.49 Net loan charge-offs, excluding Rock Hill Bank & Trust Workout Loans (b) 0.41 0.50 Average Assets $ ($ in billions) OPERATIONS DATA 10 Branch offices (c) 134 117 15 % ATMs 122 105 16 8 Employees (full-time equivalent) 1,918 1,700 13 6 Notes: 4 (a) See page 19 for a reconciliation of GAAP net income and operating earnings. (b) At December 31, 2003, Rock Hill Bank & Trust Workout Loans totaled $28.6 million with nonperforming assets of $19.6 million. 2 At December 31,2002, Rock Hill Bank & Trust Workout Loans totaled $72.4 million with nonperforming assets of $29.2 million. Net loan charge-offs for Rock Hill Bank & Trust Workout Loans totaled $10.3 million and a recovery of $(367,000) for 2003 and 2002, respectively. 0 03 (c) Excludes one branch office for Community National Bank of Pulaski, Virginia, which TSFG acquired as part of its MountainBank 02 01 Financial Corporation acquisition. On February 3, 2004, TSFG entered into a definitive asset sale agreement to sell substantially 00 99 all of Community National Bank’s assets and liabilities. 98 5-year Compound Growth: 20% 1 Focus. Discipline. Execution. At The South Financial Group, we’ve put our strategic plan into motion. Going forward, we’re focused on executing that plan, increasing profitability and bringing the highest possible value to our Shareholders... The year 2003 was the best year in the history of Focus, discipline and execution produced results The South Financial Group. We delivered another year throughout 2003. Here are some of the highlights: of record earnings. As promised, we achieved double- Loans and transaction deposits grew at double-digit digit growth in revenues, loans and deposits. We increased rates. While we operate in thriving markets, The South our returns to shareholders. However, as proud as I am of Financial Group is actually growing faster than the what The South Financial Group achieved in 2003, I’m markets themselves. More importantly, Carolina First and even more proud of how we did it. We focused on what we Mercantile Bank are taking market share from competitors. needed to accomplish. We maintained our discipline. And we put the right team of professionals in place to execute Key credit quality measures continued to show our strategic plans. improvement. Both our nonperforming asset ratio and charge-off ratio declined in 2003. We are very close to For our first fourteen years, The South Financial resolving the Rock Hill Bank & Trust workout loans; Group emphasized strategic growth and expansion, only $29 million remains in the portfolio, representing focusing on the most attractive banking markets in the less than one half of 1% of our total loans. Southeast. We have created an impressive geographic footprint in the region. Three years ago, we shifted that Elevate sales process made impressive inroads. focus to profitability. Consequently, we developed a Our Elevate sales process did what it was designed to do: strategic plan that balanced profitability and growth, increase the number of products per household. By year’s and concentrated on creating value for our shareholders. end, we met our goal of 3.5 products per household With a disciplined management team in place to execute (excluding the recently acquired MountainBank this plan, we are witnessing the results of that focus operations), and we significantly increased our overall and discipline. number of households, up 25% for the year. This For 2003, net income increased 61% over 2002 to represents a solid foundation for future improvement. $95.1 million. For eleven consecutive quarters, operating We expanded and strengthened our geographic EPS has increased. Over this eleven quarter period, our franchise. While our focus remains on profitability, we operating earnings per share have increased at an expanded our footprint in Western North Carolina with annualized rate of 37%. our acquisition of MountainBank. And in January, we In 2003, TSFG’s total return to shareholders was announced an agreement to acquire CNB Florida 37%, making 2003 a rewarding year for our shareholders. Bancshares. Upon completion of this merger, we will have Over the past three years, TSFG’s annualized total return 50 branches and over $3 billion in assets in Florida. to shareholders has exceeded 30%, outperforming most bank and stock market indexes. 2 Corporate Headquarters, Greenville, SC 7:43 a.m. The year 2003 was one of dramatic progress for The South Financial Group. The successes of the past year have given us a great deal of confidence in our long-term growth potential. We have talented, “experienced professionals in place. We operate in superior banking markets. We are focused on our goals. We have the discipline to stick to our plans and execute them successfully. In short, we are prepared for the future right now.” Mack I. Whittle, Jr. President and Chief Executive Officer Mack I. Whittle, Jr., a founder of the company in 1986, has led The South Financial Group since its inception. In the past seventeen years, The South Financial Group has grown from a local, start-up bank to a regional super- community bank with $10.7 billion in assets. Under his guidance, The South Financial Group has remained true to its mission to “take banking personally.” Focus. Discipline. Execution. Cash Dividends Declared Cash dividends have increased every year since initiation, for an average of 15%* a year over the past 10 years. $ 0.60 0.50 0.40 0.30 0.20 0.10 0.00 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 * Adjusted for stock dividends 3-Year Return Successful equity offering raised $161 million in new (annualized) % capital. The infusion of new capital in 2003 created a 35 Total Market Returns* tangible equity to tangible asset ratio exceeding 6%. An investment made in TSFG 30 stock on December 31, 2000 This laid the foundation for profitable expansion with would have more than 25 doubled three years later. solid capital levels. Additionally, Carolina First Bank 20 received an “investment grade” rating from Moody’s, TSFG Common Stock 15 enhancing our ability to borrow at reasonable rates. S&P 500 Banks Index 10 Setting three-year goals focused our team. In 2001, S&P Small Cap 600 5 we set strategic, three-year goals. During this three-year S&P 500 0 period, we completed four strategic acquisitions and a * Assumes dividend reinvestment very successful equity offering.