First Bancorp Announces Cash Dividend

TROY, N.C., May 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Board of Directors of First Bancorp , the parent company of First Bank, has declared a cash dividend of 19 cents per share payable July 25, 2007 to shareholders of record as of June 30, 2007. The 19 cents per share dividend rate represents a 5.6% increase over the dividend rate of 18 cents per share declared in the same period of 2006.

First Bancorp is a bank holding company based in Troy, North Carolina with total assets of approximately $2.1 billion. Its principal activity is the ownership and operation of First Bank, a state-chartered community bank that operates 69 branch offices, with 62 branches operating in a twenty-one county market area in the central piedmont and coastal regions of North Carolina, 3 branches in Dillon County, South Carolina, and 4 branches in Virginia (Abingdon, Dublin, Radford, and Wytheville), where First Bank does business as First Bank of Virginia. The Company also has a loan production office in Blacksburg, Virginia. First Bancorp's common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol FBNC.

Please visit our website at http://www.firstbancorp.com/. For additional information, please contact:

Mr. Jerry L. Ocheltree President & Chief Executive Officer Telephone: [phone]