Bank Of The Ozarks Net Income Climbs To $18 Million In First Quarter

Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. posted a strong first quarter profit of $18 million and company officials reported new lending activity that would provide “excellent prospects for growth” in the future.

First quarter net income of $18 million was up 23% from the same period last year when Bank of the Ozarks recorded $14.6 million in net income. Diluted earnings per common share for the first quarter of 2012 were $0.52, a 21% increase from $0.43 for the first quarter of 2011.

“We are pleased to report another excellent quarter. Outstanding performance throughout our company resulted in solid first quarter earnings and significant improvement in our asset quality ratios,” said George Gleason, Chairman and CEO.

Gleason also indicated that new lending improved in the quarter. Loans and leases, excluding loans covered by FDIC loss share agreements (covered loans), were $1.89 billion at March 31, 2012 compared to $1.81 billion at March 31, 2011. Including covered loans, total loans and leases were $2.65 billion at March 31, 2012, compared to $2.34 billion at March 31, 2011.

“We had excellent origination volume of new loans and leases during the first quarter,” Gleason said. “Although our outstanding balance of loans and leases, excluding covered loans, increased only $8 million during the quarter, we had an increase of approximately $78 million during the quarter in our unfunded balance of closed loans. At March 31, 2012 our total unfunded balance of closed loans had increased to approximately $391 million, reflecting excellent prospects for growth in future quarters.”

Other highlights for the quarter included:

• Deposits were $2.93 billion at March 31, 2012 compared to $2.58 billion at March 31, 2011.
• Total assets were $3.84 billion at March 31, 2012 compared to $3.33 billion at March 31, 2011.
• Net interest income for the first quarter of 2012 increased 21.5% to $43.8 million compared to $36.1 million for the first quarter of 2011, but decreased 4.4% compared to $45.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2011.
• Non-interest income for the first quarter of 2012 increased 6.3% to $13.8 million compared to $13.0 million for the first quarter of 2011 and increased 6.5% compared to $13.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2011.

Shares of Bank of the Ozarks (NASDAQ: OZRK) closed Thursday at $30.93. The earnings report was issued after the markets closed. For the past 52 weeks, the share price has ranged from a $32.26 high to a $19.14 low.