EARNINGS PER SHARE

Basic earnings per common share represent income available to common shareholders, divided by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share reflect additional common shares that would have been outstanding if dilutive potential common shares had been issued. Potential common shares that may have been issued by the Company related to outstanding stock options and were determined using the treasury stock method. The Company has not granted any stock options since 2007 and all outstanding options expired on July 17, 2017.

As of December 31, 2019, 2018 and 2017, there were no options which were excluded from the calculation as their effect would be anti-dilutive, because the exercise price of the options was greater than the average market price of the common shares. Basic and diluted earnings per share have been computed based on weighted-average common and common equivalent shares outstanding as follows:



(dollars in thousands)	Years Ended December 31,
(dollars in thousands)	2019		2018		2017
Net Income	$	15,272	$	11,228	$	7,208

Average number of common shares outstanding	5,560,588		5,550,510		4,627,776
Dilutive effect of common stock equivalents	—		—		1,452
Average number of shares used to calculate diluted EPS	5,560,588		5,550,510		4,629,228

Earnings Per Common Share
Basic	$	2.75	$	2.02	$	1.56
Diluted	2.75		2.02		1.56