Happy quarter
by April 29, 2010 6:55 am 67 views
Bank of the Ozark easily beat first quarter expectations Wednesday, posting a record 72% increase in profits from a year ago.
For the first three months of the year, the Little Rock-based bank saw net income of $15.9 million, or 94 cents per share, compared to net income of $9.2 million, or 55 cents, in the same quarter of 2009. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the Arkansas bank to report earnings of 49 cents per share, on average.
Bank of the Ozark said the quarterly results include an after-tax gain of
$5.9 million to net income, or 35 cents, related to a deal with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) last month to acquire the assets of the former Unity National Bank of Cartersville, Ga.
Bank of the Ozarks joined regional banking rivals Home Bancshares of Conway and Iberia Bank of Lafayette, La., in getting a first quarter boost from deals with the government to grab cheap financial assets that have landed on the FDIC’s notorious "failed bank list.” The Little Rock bank and FDIC entered into a purchase and assumption agreement to takeover all of the deposits of Unity National Bank on March 26.
That deal allowed Bank of the Ozark to purchase essentially all of the Unity’s assets, which was valued at $292.2 million and included $264.3 million in customer deposits at end of 2009. Bank of the Ozark is further protected by a loss-share agreement with the FDIC that puts the bank’s maximum exposure at $206 million.
“We are very pleased with our first quarter results which were at a record level even
before our profitable acquisition,” Bank of the Ozark Chairman and CEO George Gleason said in a statement. “Highlights of the first quarter include our strategic acquisition in north Georgia, further improvement in our net interest margin, record trust income, and general improvement in our asset quality ratios compared to the fourth quarter of 2009.”
Overall, deposits were $2.25 billion for the quarter, down 1.6% compared to $2.29 billion last year. Total assets, including those acquired in the Unity transaction, were $3.02 billion versus $3.16 billion a year ago. Common stockholders’ equity was $284 million, up 5.2% from $270 million for the first three months of 2009.
Bank of the Ozark shares (NASDAQ: OZRK) closed Wednesday at $36.09, down 55 cents, or 1.5%