Houston's Prosperity Bancshares Inc. said Friday that first-quarter earning rose 31% from a year earlier, to a record $10.6 million - the first time its quarterly profit exceeded $10 million.
The $3.5 billion-asset company has completed three acquisitions since the first quarter of 2004.
Prosperity said the three deals added $640 million of loans and pushed its portfolio to $1.5 billion.
Organic growth was not as robust. The company had projected 10% growth for the period but attained just 5.6%.
James D. Rollins 3d, Prosperity's president, said its performance was affected by intense competition in Houston, where the company has most of its branches. It lost about $30 million of loan deals to "very aggressive pricing" by rivals, he said.
David Zalman, Prosperity's senior chairman and chief executive officer, said it still has plenty of opportunities to make loans and that full-year earnings will "fall on the high side of the current analyst estimates of $1.74 to $1.78" a share.
