Greenville, South Carolina, October 22, 2024 – Southern First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: SFST), holding company for Southern First Bank, today announced its financial results for the three-month period ended September 30, 2024.

“Our third quarter results continued our positive momentum and outlook this year. Our focus on building a high-quality balance sheet again rewarded us with outstanding asset quality performance, which is among the industry’s best. We are well-positioned for increasing profitability in this operating environment despite persistent growth headwinds and uncertain interest rate moves by the Fed,” stated Art Seaver, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. “This quarter we executed on opportunities to lower our funding costs, which is reflected in our solid margin expansion. Our team did an outstanding job of growing core checking accounts by 21%, annualized. Loan growth was flat due to our deliberate actions around disciplined pricing and high credit quality standards. We also believe that business growth may be waiting for additional clarity on interest rates, the political environment and global influences on the economy.  Meanwhile, we are taking care of our clients and developing strong business pipelines one relationship at a time with relentless relationship banking and exceptional service.”

2024 Third Quarter Highlights

• Net income of $4.4 million and diluted earnings per common share of $0.54
• Total loans of $3.6 billion and total deposits of $3.5 billion
• Nonperforming assets to total assets of 0.28% and net recoveries of $9 thousand
• Net interest margin of 2.08% for Q3 2024, compared to 1.98% for Q2 2024

• Book value per common share of $40.04 and TCE ratio of 7.82%