Icon (Close Menu)

Logout

Simmons First Reports 2Q Net Income of $23.1M

2 min read

Simmons First National Corp. of Pine Bluff on Wednesday reported second-quarter net income of $23.1 million, up slightly from $22.9 million for the same quarter of last year.

The company (Nasdaq: SFNC), which completed its acquisition of Hardeman County Investment Co. of Jackson, Tennessee, and its wholly owned bank subsidiary, First South Bank, reported diluted earnings per share of 72 cents. That’s down from 75 cents in the same quarter of 2016.

Simmons First completed the acquisition on May 15. A system conversion is planned for Sept. 5, and First South will merge into Simmons First then.

Included in the most recent quarter were $3.7 million in net after-tax merger-related and branch consolidation costs. Excluding those costs, “core earnings” were $26.8 million, or 84 cents per share, the company said, compared with $25.1 million, or 82 cents per share, in same quarter last year.

“We had solid results in the second quarter. Our loan growth continues to be strong. We are experiencing some upward pressure on cost of funds which is currently prohibiting an expansion in the net interest margin,” Chairman and CEO George Makris Jr. said in a news release. “We continue to expand our risk management programs in anticipation of surpassing $10 billion in assets within the next few months. All in all, we feel we are well prepared for continued growth both organically and through acquisitions.”

The bank has announced two other acquisitions since November. 

Total loans were $6.2 billion as of June 30, up 24 percent from the same period in 2016. Legacy loans — all loans excluding acquired loans — grew by $1.3 billion, or 34 percent. 

Total deposits were $7.1 billion, up nearly 18 percent from the same period in 2016.

Quarterly net interest income was $76.8 million, up 15 percent from the same period last year. Net interest margin was 4.04 percent, a 10 basis-point decline from the same quarter last year. 

Non-interest income was $35.7 million, down $1.1 million compared with the first quarter of 2016.

Simmons attributed the decrease to:

  • A drop in mortgage revenue from a decline in demand in the industry.
  • The exit from the institutional division of the broker dealer line of business in the third quarter of last year. 
  • A decline in gain on sale of securities because the bank sold securities during the quarter to provide liquidity for strong loan demand.

The company also said trust income, service charges on deposits and debit card fees increased from organic growth and recent acquisitions to make up for some of the declines.

Send this to a friend