Bank OZK of Little Rock (Nasdaq: OZK) on Wednesday reported second-quarter net income of $177.5 million, up 3.3% from $167.9 million a year ago.
The bank said it’s the seventh consecutive quarter of record net income.
Earnings per share came to $1.52, also a record for the seventh straight quarter.
The results surpassed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.51 per share.
The bank posted revenue of $696.6 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $416.8 million, which also beat Street forecasts. Five analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $409.6 million.
Along with second-quarter earnings, Bank OZK announced that its board had approved a stock repurchase program for up to $200 million of outstanding common shares by July 1, 2025.
“These record results have allowed us to consistently increase dividends, significantly grow capital and opportunistically repurchase shares, all while almost doubling our allowance for credit losses,” CEO George Gleason said in a statement.
The bank finished the second quarter with $574.1 million set aside for bad loans, up 34.5% from $426.8 million in the same quarter a year ago.
Total loans came to $28.67 billion, a 21.5% increase from $23.61 billion a year ago.
Bank OZK’s high exposure to commercial real estate, which faces risks from high interest rates, has raised concerns among investors. But as other banks retreat, Gleason has said Bank OZK plans to continue pursuing opportunities in the sector.
In the first quarter, the bank held the highest proportion of construction loans relative to gross loans and leases among banks at 44%, 11 times the industry aggregate of 4%, according to a June report by S&P Global. Cadence Bank had the second-highest construction loan concentration at 11.7%, followed by Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc. at 11.5%.
In the second quarter, construction and land development deals accounted for 40.1% of the bank’s loans. Non-farm and non-residential projects accounted for about 23% of its loans, and multifamily residential projects accounted for 8.2%.
Deposits totaled $29.94 billion in the second quarter, up 24.9% from $23.98 billion a year ago.
Total assets were $36.84 billion, up 19.7% from $30.76 billion.
Shares of the company rose less than 1% on Wednesday to $46.92 before falling about 2% in after-hours trading to $45.99. Year to date, shares were down about 5.7%.
Bank OZK has 240 offices in nine states, including Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, New York, California and Mississippi.
The bank plans to double its footprint in Houston over the next 12 months to capitalize on “untapped potential” in the market, the Houston Business Journal reported.
The Associated Press contributed information to this report.
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