Simmons First National (SFNC) of Pine Bluff, Ark., reported a first-quarter profit of $6.4 million, up roughly 25% from a year earlier as its loan-loss provision fell.
The $3.3 billion-asset company said Thursday that earnings per share totaled 37 cents, beating estimates of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters by a penny.
The company's provision for loan losses totaled $771,000, down 71% from a year earlier. However, loans charged off rose almost 107% to $3.9 million.
Simmons First's net interest income rose roughly 3%, to $27.7 million, from a year earlier. The company said this increase was mostly due to additional yield accretion related to loan pools acquired in 2010 in Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. assisted transactions.
Noninterest income fell almost 15%, to $10.7 million, year over year. This was partially offset by a 4% decline in noninterest expense, which totaled $28.6 million for the quarter.
