Hancock Holding in Gulfport, Miss., reported a steep drop in quarterly earnings that reflected ongoing energy woes.
The $22.8 billion company said in a press release Tuesday that it earned $3.8 million in the first quarter. In comparison, Hancock earned $40.2 million a year earlier.
Hancock recorded a loan-loss provision of $60 million in the quarter with $50 million tied to its energy lending. The company warned late last month that had downgraded $300 million of energy loans.
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Bank earnings season is just getting underway, but a consistent theme around energy lending is already emerging credit quality is going to get worse and weigh on profits the rest of the year.
April 14 -
Word that Hancock Holding in Mississippi would more than double its loan-loss allowance has triggered broader questions about how the oil slump could spread beyond the energy portfolios of a whole class of banks.
March 30 -
Hancock Holding is warning of more pain in its energy portfolio as low prices continue to hamper oil and gas firms ability to repay their loans.
March 29
The company said the loan-loss provision will likely total $105 million to $140 million for full-year 2016. The allowance for loan losses totaled $218 million, or 1.36% of total loans, on March 31.
Drawdowns on existing lines of credit spurred a $53 million increase in the size of Hancock's energy portfolio, which totaled $1.3 billion — or 10% of total loans — at the end of the first quarter.
Deposits were the brightest spot on Hancock's balance sheet, increasing by 11% to $18.7 billion.
"While the volatility of the current energy cycle continues to overshadow the progress we are making towards meeting our goals, we remain focused on growing the nonenergy portion of our company," John Hairston, Hancock's chief executive, said in a press release.
