Simmons First National Corp. of Pine Bluff on Thursday reported first-quarter net income of $23.5 million, up 170 percent from $8.7 million in the same quarter last year.
The publicly traded bank company, which has added to its footprint and is keeping its eye out for more growth, reported diluted earnings per share of 77 cents, up from 39 cents in the same quarter last year.
"We believe that our operating results reflect the successful integration of 12 separately chartered banks and two trust companies over the past two years," CEO George Makris said in a news release. "We continue to pursue growth opportunities and improvement in our organization as evidenced by our recent charter conversion to a state member bank."
Simmons also reported "core" earnings of $23.2 million, or 76 cents per share, up from $7.5 million, or 70 cents, in the same quarter last year.
Total loans, including those acquired, were $4.9 billion as of March 31, up 6.3 percent from the the same period in 2015. Legacy loans — loans excluding acquired loans — grew $1.4 billion, or 64.2 percent.
As of March 31, total deposits were $6.1 billion, down 3.1 percent from the same period in 2015.
Quarterly net interest income was $70.2 million, up 32.6 percent from the same period of 2015. The increase was driven by growth in the company’s legacy loan portfolio and earning assets acquired through Simmons' purchase of Community First Bancshares Inc. of Union City, Tennessee, and Liberty Bancshares Inc. of Springfield, Missouri.
Non-interest income for the first quarter was $29.5 million, up $11.2 million from first quarter of 2015.