Arkansas bank's profit in quarter $18.9M

Tax cuts forced one-time charge

Graphs showing information about Simmons First National's Fourth quarter
Graphs showing information about Simmons First National's Fourth quarter

Simmons First National Corp. made a profit of $18.9 million in the fourth quarter last year, down from $27 million in the fourth quarter of 2016, the Pine Bluff bank said Friday.

The bank earned 43 cents per share in the quarter, down from 85 cents from the same period of 2016.

Because of the federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that lowered the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent, Simmons had to take a one-time charge to its income statement of $11.5 million.

Without the one-time charge, Simmons earned $42 million in the fourth quarter, or 97 cents per share, which beat the average estimate of 88 cents a share projected by five analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Simmons had net income last year of $92.9 million, or $2.66 earnings per share.

Simmons shares rose 35 cents Monday to close at $59.50 in trading on the Nasdaq exchange. The fourth-quarter report was released after the market closed.

The tax law changes allowed Simmons to increase its profit-sharing portion of its employees' 401(k) retirement plan and also invest up to $100 million more in technology over the next five years, George Makris, Simmons' chairman and chief executive officer, said in a prepared statement.

The bank also announced last week a 2-for-1 stock split of the company's stock.

Individual shareholders own about 50 percent of Simmons Bank, Makris said.

"We believe it is a valuable dynamic to have owners as customers and vice versa," Makris said.

Simmons had $15.1 billion in assets on Dec. 31, up almost 60 percent from $9.5 billion in the third quarter last year.

The bank increased its assets because of the purchase last year of Southwest Bancorp of Stillwater, Okla., and First Texas BHC in Fort Worth.

With the acquisitions, Simmons is now the third-largest bank in the state behind Bank of the Ozarks and Arvest Bank.

Simmons had $11 billion in deposits and $10.8 billion in loans on Dec. 31.

Simmons will hold a conference call today at 9 a.m. to discuss the fourth-quarter results. To access the call, dial (866) 298-7926 and ask for the Simmons First National conference call. The conference identification number is 9490-927.

Business on 01/23/2018

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