BancFirst Corp. in Oklahoma City reported a third-quarter profit of $12.6 million, up 6.7% from the same period in 2010. Earnings per share rose 8%, to 81 cents, beating consensus analysts' estimates by nine cents.
The $5.5 billion-asset company, which released its earnings late Thursday, attributed the profit gain largely to an $813 million increase in earning assets year over year, nearly half of which came from acquisitions. In July, the company completed its fifth acquisition in the last 18 months by purchasing the $208 million-asset FBC Financial Corp. in Claremore, Okla.
The asset growth helped boost net interest income 11.5%, to $40.2 million, from the same period a year earlier. Meanwhile, noninterest income grew by 11%, to $20.1 million, due primarily to higher commercial deposit revenues, and increases in insurance commissions, fees from treasury management services and rental income on other real estate. However, acquisitions were a main reason why noninterest expenses in the third quarter rose nearly 17%, to $41.3 million.
