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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): July 29, 2004
FIRST NATIONAL LINCOLN CORPORATION
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in charter)
MAINE
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)
0-26589 01-0404322
(Commission file number) (IRS employer identification no.)
Main Street, Damariscotta, Maine 04853
(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)
(207) 563-3195
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
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Item 5. Other Events
The Company today issued the following press release:
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First National Lincoln Corporation Receives National Recognition as Outstanding
Small Bank
DAMARISCOTTA, ME., July 29 -- First National Lincoln Corporation (Nasdaq NM:
FNLC), the holding company for The First National Bank of Damariscotta, today
announced that it has been named to Sandler O'Neill's first-ever "SmAll Stars"
list. This elite group, constituting the 30 best-performing small-
capitalization banks in the United States based upon absolute financial
performance in eight distinct categories, was created by Sandler O'Neill &
Partners LP, a full-service investment banking firm specializing in financial
services companies.
"In my view," noted Daniel R. Daigneault, First National Lincoln Corporation's
President & Chief Executive Officer, "being named to this elite list
acknowledges, at a national level, the exceptional job that First National
Lincoln Corporation has done, year in and year out. There are only a handful of
Maine-based companies whose shares are listed on a national exchange, and this
reinforces my view that First National Lincoln Corporation provides an
excellent investment opportunity, especially for the investor interested in a
top-performing Maine company."
According to Sandler O'Neill, "the SmAll Stars list was created as a means to
recognize stand-out publicly traded banks and thrifts in the U.S. with a market
capitalization of less than $2 billion. Small-cap stocks tend to go
unrecognized by Wall Street as most of the available equity research focuses on
recognizable, large-cap companies, even though small-caps have historically
outperformed their larger counterparts."
To address this issue, Sandler O'Neill screened all 592 publicly-traded banks
and thrifts with a market cap of less than $2 billion by eight distinct
criteria. "These criteria range from fundamental momentum measures such as EPS
growth to asset quality characteristics to capital strength," the Company
noted. "Based on these metrics, 562 or 95% of the institutions were eliminated.
The remaining 30 banks and thrifts are among the finest in their class."
"We are delighted to be named to Sandler O'Neill's SmAll Stars," commented
First National Lincoln Corporation's President Daigneault. "For a number of
years, FNLC has consistently outperformed its peers and delivered excellent
results for its shareholders. We have accomplished this by remaining focused on
serving the financial needs of our communities, and it was done through the
efforts of all of our employees working together to deliver exceptional service
to our customers."
"We felt it was important to create a group such as the SmAll Stars," said Mark
Fitzgibbon, Principal and Director of Research at Sandler O'Neill. "It is time
that small-cap companies gain more recognition from the Wall Street investment
community."
"The 30 banks and thrifts recognized in this survey are best in class," added
Steven Alexopoulos, the Sandler O'Neill analyst who compiled the Class of 2004
Sm-All Stars. "These are the companies we would expect to see great things from
over the long-term."
First National Lincoln Corporation, headquartered in Damariscotta, Maine, is
the holding company for The First National Bank of Damariscotta and Pemaquid
Advisors. The First is an independent community bank serving Mid-Coast Maine
with seven offices in Lincoln and Knox Counties that provide consumer and
commercial banking products and services. Pemaquid Advisors provides investment
advisory, private banking and trust services from offices in Damariscotta,
Boothbay Harbor, and Portland, Maine.
Sandler O'Neill & Partners, founded in 1988, is a full-service investment
banking firm dedicated to providing comprehensive, innovative advisory, and
transaction execution services to the financial industry. The firm specializes
in strategic business planning, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets,
mutual-to-stock conversions, investment portfolio and interest rate risk
management, fixed income securities transactions, and mortgage finance
restructurings. Sandler O'Neill is also a market maker in hundreds of financial
stocks and publishes equity and fixed income research focused on selected
banks, thrifts and insurance companies, credit card companies, investment
banks, asset managers and specialty finance companies.
Forward-looking and cautionary statements: except for the historical
information and discussions contained herein, statements contained in this
release may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements involve a
number of risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual
results to differ materially, as discussed in the Company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
For more information, please contact F. Stephen Ward, First National Lincoln
Corporation's Treasurer & Chief Financial Officer, at 207.563.3195 ext. 5001
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SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended, the Company has duly caused this report to be filed on its behalf by
the undersigned thereunto duly authorized.
FIRST NATIONAL LINCOLN CORPORATION
By: /s/ F. Stephen Ward
F. Stephen Ward
Treasurer & Chief Financial Officer
July 29, 2004