BancorpSouth 2012 profits rise 124%

Tupelo, Miss.-based BancorpSouth Inc. (NYSE: BXS) reported 2012 earnings of $84.3 million, a 124.4 percent increase compared to profits of $37.6 million in 2011.

The holding company, which operates six BancorpSouth branches in Springfield, posted diluted earnings per share of 90 cents for the year, up from 45 cents the year before, according to a news release.

"We experienced a record year in both mortgage production and mortgage lending income," BancorpSouth board Chairman Aubrey Patterson said in the release. "Mortgage production for the quarter was $549.4 million, contributing to total mortgage lending revenue of $17.2 million. This level of production resulted in a record annual production volume of almost $2 billion for 2012."

The company's fourth-quarter net income was $17 million, up 27.6 percent from earnings of $13.3 million in the same quarter of 2011.

The company recorded earnings per diluted share of 18 cents in the quarter ending Dec. 31, a 2-cent increase from fourth-quarter 2011, according to the release.

During the quarter, BancorpSouth named James Rollins III as CEO to succeed Patterson. "While I was only a part of the team for the last month of 2012, I believe that the results reported for the year are the product of a lot of hard work and effort over a number of quarters to continue to improve the company's credit quality and operating performance," Rollins said in the release.

As of Dec. 31, the company's assets were $13.1 billion and its deposits were $11 billion. BancorpSouth operates 293 commercial banking, mortgage, insurance, trust and broker/dealer locations in nine states.

The company's shares were trading at $14.21 as of 8:57 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $11.18 to $15.69.