Home Bancshares posts record quarterly earnings

Home Bancshares, Inc., parent company of Centennial Bank, reported record net income for the year ended Dec. 31, 2013 of $66.5 million compared to $63 million for the year ended 2012.

For the fourth quarter of 2013, Conway-based Home Bancshares recorded quarterly net income of $13 million compared to $16.9 million of net income one year ago. The previously announced Liberty Bancshares acquisition was a huge driver of the record earnings. Centennial now operates the Liberty Bank locations in the Northwest Arkansas and Fort Smith areas.

“During the fourth quarter we made a game-changing purchase with the Liberty acquisition. It was a historical accomplishment for Home Bancshares to be able to complete Arkansas’s largest ever in-state bank acquisition plus convert the core operating systems in the same quarter. This impressive execution has the company in position to realize the anticipated cost savings, thereby rewarding our shareholders,” said John Allison, Chairman.

“Our team is focused on this important task and is working to recognize these enhancements as quickly as possible. I am looking forward to watching our team succeed in this process. As a result, I believe there is a bright future for us during 2014,” he added.

“We have been able to achieve many successes throughout the year that positioned us to be ready to handle the acquisition of Liberty,” CEO Randy Sims said in the statement. “As for the financial results, we are proud of the record profit reported for 2013. It was a truly remarkable financial performance year with the company reporting net income of $66.5 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.14 per share or net income of $77.7 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.33 excluding merger expenses. During the year we have been focused on our efficiency ratio and net interest margin. These efforts have paid off as we are pleased to report an impressive 45.49% core efficiency ratio and 5.19% net interest margin for the year.”

Financial highlights for the fourth quarter include:
• Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2013 increased 62.4% to $67.1 million from $41.3 million during the fourth quarter of 2012.

• Non-interest income for the fourth quarter of 2013 of $12.2 million, compared to $16.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2012.

• Total covered loans were $282.5 million at Dec. 31, 2013 compared to $384.9 million at Dec. 31, 2012.

• Total deposits were $5.39 billion at Dec. 31, 2013 compared to $3.48 billion at Dec. 31, 2012.

• Total assets were $6.81 billion at Dec. 31, 2013 compared to $4.24 billion at Dec. 31, 2012.