Bank OZK Q1 earnings set record

by George Jared ([email protected]) 801 views 

The new Bank OZK headquarters in west Little Rock.

Bank OZK announced Thursday (April 20) that net income for the first quarter of 2023 was a record $165.9 million, a 29.5% increase from $128 million for the first quarter of 2022.

Diluted earnings per common share for the first quarter of 2023 were a record $1.41, a 38.2% increase from $1.02 for the first quarter of 2022.

Provision for credit losses was $35.8 million for the first quarter of 2023 compared to $4.2 million for the first quarter of 2022 and $32.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2022. The bank’s total allowance for credit losses was $393.8 million, compared to $293.5 million in March of last year. Pre-tax pre-provision net revenue was a record $246.4 million for the first quarter of 2023, a 42.4% increase from $173.1 million for the first quarter of 2022.

Bank OZK’s annualized returns on average assets, average common stockholders’ equity and average tangible common stockholders’ equity for the first quarter of 2023 were 2.41%, 15.24% and 17.94%, respectively, compared to 1.97%, 11.67% and 13.73%, respectively, for the first quarter of 2022.

“We are pleased to report our record results for the first quarter. These results could not be achieved without the outstanding performance of our teammates. Our strong capital, liquidity and profitability have us well-positioned for the future,” George Gleason, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said.

Total loans were $22.06 billion at the end of March, a 16.5% increase from the same month last year. Deposits were $22.28 billion a 9.6% increase from March 2022. Total assets were $28.97 billion a 9.1% increase from last year.

In a reference to national banking troubles of the last two months, Gleason noted that despite his bank not having to conduct certain stress tests, Bank OZK does conduct “robust” stress tests.

“Our excellent results for the quarter just ended were consistent with our outlook for 2023. We always want to improve, and that constant improvement includes building in future quarters on our recent record results, including our record net income and earnings per share. We believe that is a reasonable goal. We continue to have a cautiously positive outlook for the coming quarters, even considering the likely near-term macroeconomic challenges. We believe we are well-positioned to capitalize on opportunities that those challenges may create,” Gleason said.