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Simmons Posts Record Profit for 2018: $215.7M

2 min read

Simmons First National Corp. of Pine Bluff, bulked up by two acquisitions in late 2017, announced Tuesday record net income of $215.7 million for the year that ended Dec. 31.

That’s more than twice 2017’s net income of $92.9 million, despite $4.5 million in expenses related to the mergers and resulting branch closures.

“We had a remarkable year,” Chairman and CEO George A. Makris Jr. said in a news release announcing fourth-quarter and full-year results.

Diluted earnings per share for the full year were $2.32 for 2018, an increase of 74.4 percent compared with the prior year.

Fourth-quarter net income was $55.6 million, or 60 cents diluted earnings per share, compared to $18.9 million, or 22 cents diluted earnings per share, for the same period in 2017.

“In addition to producing record financial results, we completed two successful system conversions for the banks acquired in late 2017 and a 2-for-1 stock split. We also announced yet another acquisition that will be completed this year,” Makris said. “Throughout 2018, we experienced excellent organic growth in all our markets and balanced year-to-date loan yields with deposit costs in a rising-rate environment, all the while sustaining our reputable asset quality.

“This past year, we focused on improving our delivery of products and services to our customers throughout our existing footprint. We will carry this momentum into 2019 as we continue to focus on improving our business processes, expanding our customer relationships and closing our acquisition of Reliance Bancshares.”

SFNC, the publicly traded holding company for Simmons Bank, reported year-end assets of $16.5 billion and average return on assets of 1.37 percent (compared with 0.92 percent in 2017). Deposits were $12.4 billion at the end of the year, up from $11.1 billion at the end of 2017. Loans totaled $11.7 billion, and the allowance for loan losses was 0.67 percent of total loans (down from 0.73 percent a year earlier).

Foreclosed assets and OREO — “other real estate owned” — stood at $25.6 million, an increase from Sept. 30 but an improvement from year-end 2017.

Simmons executives will hold a conference call at 9 a.m. Wednesday, accessible from SimmonsBank.com.

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