The Little Rock company said in a press release late Wednesday that earnings in first nine months of 2011 included gains from three Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. assisted acquisitions. Gains on these deals contributed about $36.6 million to income. This compares to the first nine months of 2010 when three acquisitions contributed $14.4 million to income.
The $3.9 billion-asset company reported 55 cents in diluted earnings per common share for the third quarter. Even though this was a 6.8% decrease from the third quarter of 2010, the earnings still beat expectations. A research note on Thursday from Sandler O'Neill & Partners L.P. stated that they had estimated earnings per share at 37 cents while the consensus was 41 cents.
Sandler O'Neill linked the bank's better-than-expected results in part to a higher net interest margin and increased fee income, which can mostly be attributed to these recent acquisitions. The net interest margin was 5.9% for the third quarter, a 59-basis-point increase from the third quarter of 2010. A lower provision also contributed to the gains. The company's provision for loan losses decreased to $1.5 million for the quarter, from $4.3 million a year earlier. Sandler O'Neill noted that asset quality indicators were mixed. Problem loans increased while delinquencies and credit costs were lower.
Be the first to comment on this post using the section below.