TROY, N.C. – The Board of Directors of First Bancorp (NASDAQ – FBNC), the parent company of First Bank, has declared a cash dividend on its common stock of $0.08 per share payable January 25, 2012 to shareholders of record as of December 31, 2011. The $0.08 per share dividend rate is the same as the rate declared in the comparable period of 2010.

First Bancorp also reports that on November 23, 2011, the company expects to repurchase and retire the stock warrant that was originally issued to the U.S. Treasury on January 9, 2009. The warrant is for 616,308 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $15.82, with an expiration date of January 9, 2019. The warrant is being repurchased from the U.S. Treasury for $924,462. The purchase price represents the amount that First Bancorp bid in an auction for the warrant that took place on November 17, 2011.