George Makris
Simmons First National Corp. of Pine Bluff, fueled by acquisitions, reported on Thursday second-quarter net income of $20 million, or 71 cents per share, up 102 percent from $9.9 million, or 60 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
The publicly traded financial holding company (Nasdaq: SFNC) also reports “core earnings” that ignore acquisition costs, and by that metric, the company had a record quarter, with core earnings of $22.4 million, or 76 cents per share, up 145 percent from $9.1 million, or 56 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
“We continue to make good progress with our efficiency initiatives, both in revenue enhancement and in expense control,” George A. Makris, chairman and CEO, said in a news release. “Our core efficiency ratio was 58.5 percent for the quarter and our core ROA was 1.17 percent.”
During the quarter, the company made its third acquisition in Springfield, Missouri, picking up a fee-only trust and investment company called Ozark Trust & Investment Corp. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Trust Co. of the Ozarks. The cash and stock deal is worth $20.7 million. Simmons said Ozark Trust had $1.1 billion in assets under management as of March 31 and more than 1,300 accounts and clients.
Simmons’ total loans, including those acquired, were $4.8 billion as of June 30, up 101 percent from the same time last year. Legacy loans, which excludes acquired loans, grew 40 percent.
Total deposits were $6.2 billion, up 69 percent from the same time last year.
The company said quarterly net interest income was $73.2 million, up 81 percent from the same time last year, driven by growth in its legacy loan portfolio and earning assets acquired through the company’s purchases of Delta Trust & Bank, Community First Bancshares Inc. and Liberty Bancshares Inc.
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