Simmons First Q4, annual profits slide

Simmons First National Corp., parent company of Simmons Bank, saw its fourth quarter and full year profits slide in an earnings report released Wednesday (Jan. 24).

The Pine Bluff-based financial institution recorded fourth quarter net income of $23.9 million, or 19 cents earnings per share. One year ago, Simmons First reported $83.3 million, or 37 cents earnings per share.

For the year, the company reported net income of $234.41 million on revenue of $866.15 million. Simmons First posted full year net income of $256.4 million on revenue of $887.7 million in 2022, down 14.8% compared with the previous year.

“Overall, we were encouraged by the underlying trends experienced during the quarter, as well as the strategic decision we made to selectively sell certain lower yielding bonds in our securities portfolio given advantageous market conditions. Both net interest income and net interest margin were up on a linked quarter basis, reflecting our focus on maintaining strong loan and deposit pricing discipline. Equally important, deposit growth was driven by an increase in customer deposits – primarily money market and savings accounts,” said Bob Fehlman, Simmons’ Chief Executive Officer.

During the quarter, Simmons also recorded $10.5 million of noninterest expense for a FDIC special assessment levied to support the Deposit Insurance Fund following the failure of certain banks in 2023.

Additional financial highlights for Simmons First include:

• Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2023 totaled $155.6 million, compared to $153.4 million in the third quarter of 2023 and $193.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
• Noninterest income for the fourth quarter of 2023 was $22.0 million, compared to $42.8 million in the third quarter of 2023 and $44.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2022.
• Total deposits at the end of the fourth quarter of 2023 were $22.2 billion, compared to $22.5 billion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022.

“As we enter 2024 against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, we believe certain strategic actions we have taken this past year position us well to take advantage of opportunities and meet the challenges ahead,” Fehlman added.

Shares of Simmons First (NASDAQ: SFNC) were trading in the $20.20 range. During the past year, the company’s stock has traded between $13.36 per share and $23.68 per share.