Bank of the Ozarks Inc. of Little Rock on Thursday reported a 42 percent increase in fourth-quarter net income.
The publicly traded company (Nasdaq: OZRK) said net income was $34.8 million, or 43 cents per share, up from $24.4 million, or 33 cents per share in the same quarter last year.
For the full year, net income rose 30 percent to $118.6 million, or $1.52 per share.
Like other Arkansas banks, Bank of the Ozarks has spent recent months growing through acquisitions. In the last year and a half, the company completed three acquisitions: the July 2013 acquisition of The First National Bank of Shelby, the March acquisition of Bancshares, Inc., and the May acquisition of Summit Bancorp Inc.
The company is set to close on a fourth purchase, that of Intervest Bancshares Corp., in February.
The company said its annualized returns on average assets for the fourth quarter was 2.06 percent, up from 2.02 percent for the fourth quarter of 2013.
“2014 was an excellent year for our company,” George Gleason, chairman and CEO, said in a nes release. “We achieved record loan and lease growth, record growth of our unfunded balances of closed loans, record deposit growth, a robust net interest margin, an excellent net charge-off ratio, a favorable efficiency ratio, and excellent returns on average assets and stockholders’ equity. In fact, it was our fifth consecutive year of achieving a return on average assets in excess of 2 percent.”
Sign up for Daily E-news
