Full year 2022 net income down 15% at Simmons First

Editor’s note: This story has been edited to report revenue and net income that was incorrectly reported earlier.

Pine Bluff-based Simmons First National Corp. posted full year net income of $256.4 million, down 14.8% compared with $271.2 million in 2021. Revenue and income growth was partially driven by gains in interest income in the back half of 2022.

Full year revenue for the regional banking company was up $887.7 million, up from $863 million in 2021, the company reported Tuesday (Jan. 24) in its earnings report.

Fourth quarter net income was $83.3 million, well ahead of the $48.2 million in the same quarter of 2021. Fourth quarter per share net income of 65 cents was better than the consensus estimate of 62 cents. Fourth quarter revenue was $237.7 million, higher than the $199.7 million in the fourth quarter of 2021.

“During 2022, we completed a number of strategic initiatives, including the successful merger and integration of Spirit of Texas Bancshares, Inc., and delivered solid financial results while also navigating a challenging interest rate environment. First, and foremost, we were able to meet the needs of our customers and the markets we serve as total loans increased $4.1 billion and total deposits increased $3.2 billion during the year. Solid balance sheet growth helped us achieve the highest level of revenue in Simmons’ history,” bank Executive Chairman George Makris Jr. noted in the earnings report.

The bank also included a note on the potential of an economic slowdown.

“While unfunded commitments are considered a key indicator of future loan growth, softening prospects of economic growth given current market conditions and increased concerns of a potential recession in the U.S. have resulted in lower activity in our commercial loan pipeline. As such, our emphasis remains on maintaining prudent underwriting standards and disciplined pricing strategies,” the company noted.

Following are other financial metrics from the earnings report:

• Total assets as of Dec. 31 totaled $27.461 billion, better than the $24.724 billion at the end of 2021.
• Total deposits as of Dec. 31 totaled $22.548 billion, better than the $19.366 billion at the end of 2021.
• Net loans as of Dec. 31 totaled $15.945 billion, better than the $11.807 billion at the end of 2021.
• Return on assets (ROA), a key metric in the banking industry, was 1.22% as of Dec. 31, better than the 0.77% at the end of 2021.
• Total nonperforming loans at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022 were $58.9 million, up from $68.6 million at the end of the fourth quarter of 2021.

Simmons First National Corp. is a financial holding company with 230 banking centers in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. Simmons shares (NASDAQ: SFNC) opened Tuesday at $23.26, and traded lower more than 4% in morning trading. During the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged between $29.94 and $19.34.