Simmons First sees net income jump 27%

Simmons First National Corp. reported Tuesday (July 27) second quarter net income of $74.9 million. One year ago, the Pine Bluff-based financial institution posted quarterly net income of $58.8 million.

Diluted earnings per share for the second quarter of 2021 were $0.69, an increase of $0.15, or 28 percent, compared to the same period in the prior year.

On a year-to-date basis, Simmons net income for the first half of 2021 was $142.3 million, or $1.31 diluted earnings per share, compared to $136.0 million, or $1.22 diluted earnings per share, for the first half of 2020.

“Overall we were very pleased with our results for the quarter as we delivered solid performance in multiple areas while continuing to navigate the challenging environment,” said Simmons’ chairman and CEO George A, Makris, Jr.

He noted that government stimulus funds had impacted loan growth, but the bank has seen an improvement in the first half of the year compared to 2020.

“While loan growth throughout the financial services industry continues to be hampered by the significant amounts of government stimulus in the economy that has resulted in sluggish loan demand and historically high levels of paydowns, Simmons generated $1.8 billion in loan originations and advances during the first half of 2021, putting us on pace to significantly exceed loan production volume reported for the full-year of 2020,” Makris said.

He added that Simmons commercial loan pipeline has increased for three consecutive quarters.

Other highlights included:

• Total loans at the end of the second quarter of 2021 were $11.4 billion compared to $12.2 billion at the end of the first quarter of 2021 and $14.6 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2020.
• Total deposits at the end of the second quarter of 2021 were $18.3 billion, an increase of $1.7 billion or 10 percent from $16.6 billion at the end of the second quarter of 2020.
• Net interest income for the second quarter of 2021 totaled $146.5 million, compared to $146.7 million in the first quarter of 2021 and $163.7 million in the second quarter of 2020.
• Noninterest income for the second quarter of 2021 was $47.9 million compared to $50.3 million in the first quarter of 2021 and $48.8 million in the second quarter of 2020.

In early June, Simmons announced it was acquiring two Tennessee-based banks for $278 million.

Shares of Simmons First (NASDAQ: SFNC) were trading just under $27 around midday. The company’s stock has traded between a low of $14.84 per share and a high of $33.43 per share over the past year.