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Bank of the Ozarks Reports Record Profit for Quarter, 2017

2 min read

Bank of the Ozarks of Little Rock on Tuesday reported record quarterly and annual profit.

The publicly traded company (Nasdaq: OZRK) reported fourth-quarter net income of $146.2 million, up 66 percent from $87.8 million for the same quarter last year. Diluted earnings per common share came in at $1.14, up 58 percent from the fourth quarter of 2016.

For the full year, net income was $421.9 million, up 56 percent from $270.0 million in 2016. Diluted earnings per common share came in at $3.35, up 30 percent increase from $2.58 for the full year of 2016.

Quarterly results included a one-time income tax benefit of $49.8 million, or 39 cents diluted earnings per common share. The benefit came because of the GOP tax cut law, which resulted in a reduction of the company’s federal corporate income tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent. 

As a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was enacted into law on December 22, 2017, the Bank revalued its net deferred tax liability position to reflect the reduction in its federal corporate income tax rate from 35% to 21%. This revaluation resulted in a one-time income tax benefit of approximately $49.8 million, or $0.39 of diluted earnings per common share, for the fourth quarter of 2017.

“We are pleased to report our excellent results for 2017, including annual records for net income, diluted earnings per share and net interest income, excellent asset quality and continued strong growth in both the funded and unfunded balance of our non-purchased loans,” George Gleason, chairman and CEO, said in a news release. 

During the quarter, Bank of the Ozarks said, it incurred $1.14 million of employee severance expenses associated with the elimination of the small ticket equipment finance group in its leasing division, the elimination of the secondary market mortgage loan group in its mortgage division and other restructuring of staff.

More: End of Bank of the Ozarks Mortgages May Not Signal Trend

The bank said its fourth-quarter efficiency ratio was 34.8 percent compared to 34.3 percent for the fourth quarter of 2016. For the full year, its efficiency ratio was 34.9 percent compared to 35.8 percent for the full year of 2016.

As of Dec. 31, deposits were $17.19 billion, up 10 percent from Dec. 31, 2016. Total assets were $21.28 billion, up nearly 13 percent from Dec. 31, 2016.

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