Home Bancshares Profits Triple in 2011

Business

by Roby Brock ([email protected]) January 19, 2012 9:23 am 72 views 

Home BancShares, parent company of Centennial Bank, reported net income for the year ended December 31, 2011 of $54.7 million compared to $17.6 million one year ago.

Diluted earnings per share for the year ended 2011 were $1.85, compared to $0.52 for 2010.

For the fourth quarter of 2011, the Conway-based bank holding company recorded net income of $14.2 million, or $0.50 diluted earnings per share, compared to a net loss of $13.8 million, or $0.51 diluted loss per share, for the same period in 2010.

Home Bancshares has been on an acquisition spree for the last two years as it has gobbled up banks in northern Florida and a sliver of Alabama. In November, the bank acquired Vision Bank to expand its reach in the Florida panhandle market.

Also, last July, the bank announced it would exit the TARP (Troubled Asseet Relief Program) with the federal government, a program that allowed Home Bancshares to enter into nearly a half-dozen buyouts in cooperation with the FDIC.

Home Bancshares’ 2011 also glowed in comparison to the previous year, when the company took a $60-65 million one-time charge in the fourth quarter of 2010 for bad loans primarily from its Florida market.

“We are pleased with the record profit reported for 2011,” said Chairman John Allison. “Our efforts this year to make improvements were successful. We have continued to keep our strong capital levels considerably above the regulators’ capital requirements all year. It is possible, therefore, to remain poised to benefit from opportunistic FDIC deals as they are presented.”

Key metrics of the bank’s fourth quarter 2011 performance included:

  • Net interest income for the fourth quarter of 2011 increased 5.8% to $35.3 million compared to $33.4 million for the fourth quarter of 2010.
  • Non-interest income of $12.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to $31.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2010.
  • Total non-covered loans were $1.76 billion at December 31, 2011 compared to $1.89 billion at December 31, 2010.
  • Total covered loans were $481.7 million at December 31, 2011 compared to $575.8 million at December 31, 2010.
  • Total deposits were $2.86 billion at December 31, 2011 compared to $2.96 billion at December 31, 2010.
  • Total assets were $3.60 billion at December 31, 2011 compared to $3.76 billion at December 31, 2010.
  • Allowance for loan losses was $52.1 million at December 31, 2011, or 2.96% of total non-covered loans, compared to $53.3 million, or 2.82% of total non-covered loans, at December 31, 2010.

“Not only did we report distinct progress in our non-performing non-covered loans and non-performing non-covered assets when compared to those during 2010, but we also improved our net interest margin 54 basis points during the fourth quarter of 2011 over the fourth quarter of 2010,” said Home Bancshares CEO Randy Sims.

Home Bancshares stock (NASDAQ: HOMB) closed trading Wednesday at $26.13 per share. During the past 52 weeks, the share price has ranged from a $20.00 low to a $26.74 high.