2019 income and revenue up for Bank OZK
Full-year net income for Bank OZK totaled $425.906 million, up 2.1% compared with the 2018 total. Earnings per share of $3.30 for the year beat the consensus estimate of $3.28. Full year revenue was $1.27 billion, just ahead of the $1.208 billion in 2018.
Fourth quarter net income was $100.806 million, down 12.3% from the $115.031 million in the same quarter of 2019. The earnings per share of 78 cents also beat the consensus estimate of 76 cents. Fourth quarter revenue was $311.369 million, down from $319.629 million in the same period of 2018.
“We are very pleased to have achieved record net income of $425.9 million in 2019 and a 1.87% return on average assets,” George Gleason, board chairman and CEO, said in the earnings report. “Our strong credit culture and consistent discipline have been important ingredients in our long term success, and we are not wavering from those principles in today’s challenging and competitive interest rate environment. We believe our competitive advantages will allow us to capitalize on opportunities throughout 2020 and beyond.”
The Little Rock-based bank, which has completed more than 15 acquisitions over the past decade, posted $1.162 billion in interest revenue during 2019, up from $1.1 billion in 2018. Following are other financial metrics included in the earnings report that was posted Thursday (Jan. 16) after the markets closed.
• Deposits were $18.47 billion at Dec. 31, 2019, a 3% increase from $17.94 billion at Dec. 31, 2018.
• Total assets were $23.56 billion at Dec. 31, 2019, a 5.2% increase from $22.39 billion at Dec. 31, 2018.
• Total loans, including purchased loans, were $17.53 billion at Dec. 31, 2019, a 2.4% increase from $17.12 billion at Dec. 31, 2018.
• Return on average assets during the year was 1.87%, down from 1.9% in 2018.
• Return on common equity in 2019 was 12.98%, down from 14.41% in 2018.
Bank OZK has 250 offices in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Texas. Salaries and benefits for the year totaled $192.851 million, up 13.1% from $170.478 million in 2018.
The share price of Bank OZK (NASDAQ: OZK) closed at $30.81 on Thursday, up $1.03. In the past 52 weeks the share price has ranged between $24.35 to $34.34.