Home BancShares quarterly income, revenue rise despite hurricane hit

Conway-based Home BancShares posted third-quarter net income and revenue gains despite assets tied to more than $1 billion in loans being damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Helene, the bank holding company reported Wednesday (Oct. 16).

The bank, which is the parent company of Centennial Bank, reported third quarter net income of $100.038 million, just above the $98.453 million in the same quarter of 2023. Per share net income of 50 cents was below the consensus estimate of 53 cents.

Third quarter revenue was $258 million, better than the $245.4 million in the third quarter of 2023. The revenue was just below the consensus estimate of $258.9 million. Home BancShares Board Chair John Allison said the bank would have beat estimates but “Hurricane Helene hit with three business days left in the quarter.”

“I’m proud of the strength of our balance sheet which allowed us to increase our already strong loan loss reserve amount in order to prepare for what is to come as a result of recent hurricanes in the southeast,” he said in Wednesday’s report. “Our quarter was shaping up very nicely, and I was looking for $0.55 to $0.56 diluted earnings per share and an ROA of 1.96%. But that all changed almost overnight due to circumstances beyond our control.”

Bank officials also are evaluating the financial impact of Hurricane Milton which followed just a few weeks after Helene.

“We will also be evaluating the impact of Hurricane Milton which made landfall on October 9, 2024 and marched straight across the state of Florida in our footprint. This event could result in a substantial increase to hurricane related loan reserves for the fourth quarter,” Allison noted in an Oct. 11 statement.

The bank had $301.677 million in net income in the first nine months of the year, below the $306.686 million in the same period of 2023. Revenue in the first nine months was $1.104 billion, better than the $995.919 million in the same period of 2023.

Following are other financial items from the quarterly report.
• Total assets as of Sept. 30 reached $22.823 billion, up from the $21.951 billion at the same period in 2023.
• Total loans receivable as of Sept. 30 were $14.823 billion, up from the $14.271 billion at the same period in 2023.
• Total deposits as of Sept. 30 were $16.705 billion, up from the $16.518 billion at the same period in 2023.
• The return on assets as of Sept. 30 was 1.74%, down from 1.78% at the same period in 2023.

Founded in 1999, Home BancShares has 76 branches in Arkansas, 78 branches in Florida, 63 branches in Texas, 5 branches in Alabama and one branch in New York City.

Shares of Home BancShares (NASDAQ: HOMB) closed Wednesday at $27.45, up 27 cents. The results were posted Wednesday after the markets closed. During the past 52 weeks, the share price has ranged between $28.99 and $19.61.