Home BancShares posts $72.2M income in 2Q, down from ’18
Home BancShares Inc., the holding company for Centennial Bank, posted second-quarter net income of $72.2 million, the Conway bank said Thursday. That’s a 5% drop from $76 million in the same quarter last year.
The bank reported earnings per share of 43 cents for the quarter that ended June 30, down from 44 cents in last year’s second quarter and matching the average earnings estimate from eight banking analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.
Home BancShares stock closed Thursday at $19.15, up 31 cents, or 1.65%, on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Its shares have traded between $15.35 and $24.56 in the last year.
“The last three quarters show a strong trend of stability and growth in all our key metrics,” Home BancShares Chairman John Allison said in a news release. “We continue to produce solid positive growth trend.”
Tracy French, Centennial Bank’s president and chief executive officer, said in the release that loan production in the quarter was “very strong.”
“We saw loan production of over $1 billion at an average interest rate of 6.1% and were able to increase the yield on the loan portfolio by 3 basis points,” French said.
The company also reported total assets of $15.3 billion, compared with $14.9 billion a year ago. It had total depos
its of $11.4 billion as of June 30, up from $10.7 billion last year, and total loans receivable rose slightly to $11 billion from last year’s $10.9 billion.
Return on assets remains strong at 1.92%, the same as in the first quarter, said Randy Sims, Home BancShares’ chief executive officer. An earnings-per-share increase of 1 cent over the previous quarter “and an impressive efficiency ratio of 39.93% are just a few of the powerful numbers that contributed to another successful quarter for our shareholders,” he said.
Little Rock banking attorney Garland Binns also noted the bank’s efficiency ratio for the quarter as a healthy sign. Although net income for the second quarter rose only slightly from first-quarter net income of $71.4 million, “the bank continues to control its overhead expenses,” he said.
A bank’s efficiency ratio measures its overhead as a percentage of its revenue, according to Investopedia.com. A lower efficiency ratio means a bank is operating better, and 50% or less is considered optimal.
Centennial Bank has 77 branches in Arkansas, 76 in Florida, five in Alabama and one in New York City. It also has lending offices in Los Angeles and Dallas.