SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (AP) — SOUTHERN PINES, N.C. (AP) — First Bancorp (FBNC) on Wednesday reported third-quarter profit of $51.3 million.

The bank, based in Southern Pines, North Carolina, said it had earnings of $1.24 per share.

The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.18 per share.

The bank holding company for First Bank posted revenue of $169.1 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $129.9 million, also surpassing Street forecasts. Four analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $129.3 million.

_____

This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on FBNC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/FBNC