A Bank OZK branch in Houston, Texas
Bank OZK of Little Rock (Nasdaq: OZK) on Thursday reported record first-quarter profit of $165.9 million, up more than 29% from the first quarter of 2022.
The bank said it had earnings of $1.41 per share, up from $1.02 per share a year ago.
Still, the results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of six analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.43 per share.
The bank posted revenue of $476.5 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $372.7 million, beating Street forecasts. Six analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $364.1 million.
Bank OZK said its net interest margin climbed to 5.54% in the first quarter, compared to 4.24% a year ago.
The bank continued to set aside money for credit losses in the quarter, adding $35.8 million to its provisions, up from $4.2 million in the same quarter a year ago and higher than the $32.5 million it added in the fourth quarter of 2022. The provisions are treated as an expense.
Tha bank also raised its estimate of the money it may lose due to bad debts. Total allowance for credit losses was $393.8 million as of March 31, up 34% from the same date the previous year.
Bank OZK finished the quarter with $22.1 billion in total loans, a 16.5% increase from $18.9 billion a year ago.
Despite volatility in the banking industry and economic uncertainty, deposits grew for the third straight quarter to $22.3 million, up 9.6% from $22.3 million in the first quarter of 2022. Total assets also grew for the third straight quarter, reaching $28.9 billion, up from $25.6 billion a year ago.
Bank OZK has more than 240 offices in eight states, including Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, New York, California and Mississippi.
Shares of the company were down about 3% Friday morning. For the year to date, shares were down more than 8%.
Sign up for Daily E-news
