Bear State Financial Inc. of Little Rock on Thursday reported second-quarter net income of $4.5 million, up 80 percent from the same quarter last year, as the company completed the integration of Metropolitan National Bank of Springfield, Missouri, which it purchased last year.
The publicly traded company (Nasdaq: BSF), the parent of Bear State Bank, reported earnings per share of 12 cents, up from 8 cents in the same quarter last year.
"Our second quarter results demonstrated the strength of Bear State’s value proposition, of competing with more than price, and the successes we have experienced with the integration of Metropolitan," President and CEO Mark McFatridge, formerly of Metropolitan, said in a news release. "This is evident by our record mortgage production and profitability, while continuing to diversify within our loan portfolio and maintaining our strong credit culture."
Bear State announced last year plans to Metropolitan in a cash and stock deal worth $70 million. The purchase of the bank expanded Bear State's Missouri network. Since the purchase was completed in the fourth quarter, the bank consolidated six branch locations, which Bear State said contributed to a second-quarter core efficiency ratio of 68 percent, down from 72 percent in the first quarter.
The Metropolitan acquisition pushed up key metrics. Total assets were $1.9 billion as of June 30, up 37 percent from the same time last year. Total loans were about $1.5 billion, up about 41 percent. Total deposits were $1.6 billion, up about 36 percent.
Second-quarter net interest income was $16.6 million, up from $12 million during the same quarter last year. Non-interest income — generated primarily through deposit account fee income, profit on sale of mortgage loans, and earnings on life insurance policies — was $4.3 million, up from $3.4 million in the same quarter last year.