Main Street Trust Announces First Quarter 2005 Earnings CHAMPAIGN, Ill., April 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Main Street Trust, Inc. (OTC:MSTI) (BULLETIN BOARD: MSTI) reported earnings of $0.41 in unaudited consolidated net income per diluted share for the quarter ended March 31, 2005, compared to $0.41 per diluted share for the same period in 2004. Consolidated net income for the quarter totaled $3.933 million compared to $3.943 million for the same period in 2004. Van A. Dukeman, President and CEO stated that, "Main Street's interest spread (the difference between what we earn on our loans and investments and what we pay our depositors and deposit-like instruments) improved seven (7) basis points in the first quarter. Steady growth in loans, deposits and wealth management fees highlighted the first quarter performance in our three major divisions: Commercial, Retail and Wealth Management." Dukeman further stated that, "In addition, Main Street completed its acquisition of Citizens First Financial Corp. (approximately $328 million in total assets) headquartered in Bloomington, Illinois on April 1, 2005. Main Street now owns banking operations in four major downstate Illinois markets, plus our retail payment processing subsidiary, FirsTech, Inc., in Decatur. We look forward to the full integration of Citizens into our Main Street Bank & Trust subsidiary later this year and the growth prospects that such a merger will provide to your company." Cash Dividend Paid The Company distributed a $0.22 per share cash dividend on April 22, 2005, payable to shareholders of record on March 31, 2005. This is the first quarterly cash dividend declared in 2005, making total dividends paid to-date $0.44 per share for 2005, compared to $0.42 per share for the same period in 2004. Annual Meeting Main Street Trust, Inc. will hold its Annual Meeting of Shareholders on Wednesday, May 11, 2005 at 6:00 pm at The Virginia Theatre, 203 W. Park Avenue, Champaign, Illinois. Proxy information is being processed by the Company's Transfer Agent, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company. Franchise Main Street Trust, Inc. is a diversified financial services company with $1.55 billion in assets as of April 1, 2005, providing financial services to more than 60,000 customers at 23 locations in Central Illinois. Main Street Bank & Trust offers online banking ( http://www.mainstreettrust.com/ ) and surcharge free ATM access at 78 locations throughout Illinois. In addition, Main Street Wealth Management has $1.8 billion of financial assets under management for individuals and institutions. Main Street Trust, Inc. also owns a retail payment processing subsidiary -- FirsTech, Inc., which processes nearly 40 million items per year. On April 1, 2005, Main Street Trust completed its acquisition of Citizens First Financial Corp. of Bloomington, Illinois. Shareholders of Citizens First Financial that submit their election forms to the transfer agent by May 27, 2005, will receive 1.051 shares of Main Street Trust, Inc. common stock for every one share of Citizens or $35.00 per share for cash elections. Further information is available by contacting Main Street Trust's Corporate Secretary at 100 W. University, Champaign, Illinois 61824-4028, telephone 217-351-6500. Special Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements This document may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to the financial condition, results of operations, plans, objectives, future performance and business of the Company. Forward-looking statements, which may be based upon beliefs, expectations and assumptions of the Company's management and on information currently available to management, are generally identifiable by the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "intend," "estimate," "may," "will," "would," "could," "should" or other similar expressions. Additionally, all statements in this document, including forward-looking statements, speak only as of the date they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update any statement in light of new information or future events. A number of factors, many of which are beyond the ability of the Company to control or predict, could cause actual results to differ materially from those in its forward-looking statements. These factors include, among others, the following: (i) the strength of the local and national economy; (ii) the economic impact of any future terrorist threats or attacks; (iii) changes in state and federal laws, regulations and governmental policies concerning the Company's general business; (iv) changes in interest rates and prepayment rates of the Company's assets; (v) increased competition in the financial services sector and the inability to attract new customers; (vi) changes in technology and the ability to develop and maintain secure and reliable electronic systems; (vii) the loss of key executives or employees; (viii) changes in consumer spending; (ix) unexpected results of acquisitions, including the proposed acquisition of Citizens; (x) unexpected outcomes of existing or new litigation involving the Company; and (xi) changes in accounting policies and practices. These risks and uncertainties should be considered in evaluating forward-looking statements and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Additional information concerning the Company and its business, including additional factors that could materially affect the Company's financial results, is included in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. SELECTED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS (dollars in thousands, except share data) Three Months Ended Mar. 31, Dec. 31, Mar. 31, 2005 2004 2004 EARNINGS & PER SHARE DATA Basic earnings per share $0.42 $0.38 $0.41 Weighted average shares of common stock outstanding 9,453,196 9,448,657 9,509,487 Diluted earnings per share $0.41 $0.37 $0.41 Weighted average shares of common stock and dilutive potential common shares outstanding 9,554,697 9,554,364 9,630,341 Market price per share at period end(1) $29.60 $29.00 $30.60 Price to book ratio(1) 244.63% 240.46% 254.15% Price to earnings ratio(1),(2) 18.85 18.59 18.89 Cash dividends paid per share $0.22 $0.21 $0.21 Cash dividends declared per share $0.22 $0.22 $0.21 Book value per share $12.10 $12.06 $12.04 Tangible book value per share(3) $12.10 $12.06 $12.03 Ending number of common shares outstanding 9,460,870 9,448,990 9,534,243 AVERAGE BALANCES Assets $1,218,171 $1,239,921 $1,171,199 Investment securities 346,215 364,416 357,461 Gross loans(4) 771,499 751,631 696,568 Earning assets 1,137,086 1,156,435 1,084,657 Deposits 958,418 992,181 910,510 Interest bearing liabilities 909,268 943,950 882,417 Common shareholders' equity 114,639 113,616 113,061 END OF PERIOD FINANCIAL DATA Net interest income (tax equivalent) $10,117 $10,160 $9,772 Gross loans(4) 774,602 771,882 703,340 Allowance for loan losses 9,955 9,650 9,951 Total assets under management 1,751,352 1,764,562 1,556,158 PERFORMANCE RATIOS Return on average assets(5) 1.31% 1.14% 1.35% Return on average equity(5) 13.91% 12.47% 14.03% Net yield on average earning assets(5),(6) 3.61% 3.50% 3.62% Interest spread(5),(6) 3.21% 3.14% 3.29% Net overhead efficiency ratio(6),(7) 56.55% 60.55% 54.97% Non-interest revenues as a % of total revenues(7),(8) 32.77% 31.55% 35.11% Allowance for loan losses to loans 1.29% 1.25% 1.41% Allowance as a percentage of non- performing loans 401.90% 431.57% 391.16% Average loan to deposit ratio 80.50% 75.76% 76.50% Dividend payout ratio(2) 54.78% 54.49% 50.62% ASSET QUALITY Net charge-offs $25 $423 $165 Non-performing loans 2,477 2,236 2,544 Other non-performing assets 140 33 198 (1) Closing price at end of period (2) Last 12-months earnings (3) Net of goodwill (4) Loans include mortgage loans held for sale and nonaccrual loans (5) Annualized (6) On a fully tax-equivalized basis (7) Does not include securities gains/losses (8) Net of interest expense Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (Unaudited, in thousands) March 31, December 31, March 31, 2005 2004 2004 ASSETS Cash and cash equivalents $94,265 $64,928 $58,002 Investments in debt and equity securities 322,362 358,726 391,526 Mortgage loans held for sale 577 1,005 2,147 Loans, net of allowance for loan losses 764,070 761,227 691,242 Premises and equipment 16,909 17,087 17,104 Accrued interest receivable 6,853 6,570 6,787 Other assets 19,602 18,575 15,794 Total assets $1,224,638 $1,228,118 $1,182,602 LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY Liabilities: Deposits $958,451 $974,577 $910,221 Federal funds purchased, repurchase agreements and notes payable 108,818 96,900 116,152 Federal Home Loan Bank advances and other borrowings 27,571 29,882 29,939 Accrued interest payable 2,889 2,601 1,773 Other liabilities 12,402 10,183 9,746 Total liabilities $1,110,131 $1,114,143 $1,067,831 Total shareholders' equity 114,507 113,975 114,771 Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $1,224,638 $1,228,118 $1,182,602 Consolidated Statements of Income (Unaudited, in thousands) Three Months Ended: March 31, December 31, March 31, 2005 2004 2004 Interest Income: Loans and fees on loans $11,405 $10,997 $10,051 Investments in debt and equity securities Taxable 2,364 2,820 2,714 Tax-exempt 401 420 503 Federal funds sold and interest bearing deposits 221 261 113 Total interest income 14,391 14,498 13,381 Interest expense: Deposits 3,600 3,783 3,202 Federal funds purchased, repurchase agreements and notes payable 507 378 281 Federal Home Loan Bank advances and other borrowings 386 407 399 Total interest expense 4,493 4,568 3,882 Net interest income 9,898 9,930 9,499 Provision for loan losses 330 110 330 Net interest income after provision for loan losses 9,568 9,820 9,169 Non-interest income: Remittance processing 1,707 1,566 1,892 Trust and brokerage fees 1,842 1,661 1,662 Service charges on deposit accounts 526 599 579 Securities transactions, net 190 (6) 8 Gain on sales of mortgage loans, net 137 220 203 Other 613 530 803 Total non-interest income 5,015 4,570 5,147 Non-interest expense: Salaries and employee benefits 4,947 4,911 4,708 Occupancy 662 701 645 Equipment 606 626 633 Data processing 551 650 532 Office supplies 298 360 305 Service charges from correspondent banks 110 129 225 Other 1,275 1,545 1,149 Total non-interest expense 8,449 8,922 8,197 Income before income taxes 6,134 5,468 6,119 Income taxes 2,201 1,906 2,176 Net income $3,933 $3,562 $3,943 DATASOURCE: Main Street Trust, Inc. CONTACT: Van A. Dukeman, President-CEO, of Main Street Trust, Inc., +1-217-351-6568, fax, +1-217-351-6651 Web site: http://www.bankillinois.com/

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