BancorpSouth earnings rise 37%

Tupelo, Miss.-based BancorpSouth Inc. (NYSE: BXS) posted net income of $28.4 million in the first quarter, a 36.7 percent increase compared to profits of $20.8 million in the same quarter a year earlier.

The operator of six BancorpSouth branches in Springfield reported diluted share earnings of 30 cents for the first three months of the year, up from 22-cent earnings in first-quarter 2013, according to a news release.

“Our insurance team generated $31.6 million of commission revenue, including $3.1 million contributed by the GEM (Insurance Agencies LP) agency team in Houston, which was acquired near the end of 2013," BancorpSouth CEO Dan Rollins said in the release. "Even without the incremental GEM agency revenue, this is the largest quarterly amount of insurance commission revenue generated in our company’s history.

"This speaks to the success of our legacy team to continue to win new business."

First-quarter financial notes:

• BancorpSouth announced the signing of two definitive acquisition agreements during the first quarter - with Monroe, La.-based Ouachita Bancshares Corp. and Temple, Texas-based Central Community Corp.
• The company generated loans of $110.4 million, representing the fourth consecutive quarter of net loan growth.
• Nonperforming loans and leases decreased by $27.2 million, or 22.5 percent, from the fourth quarter, while nonperforming assets declined by $32.9 million, or 17.3 percent, during the same period.

As of March 31, the company held assets of $13.1 billion and deposits of $10.8 billion. BancorpSouth operates 292 banking, mortgage and insurance locations in Missouri and eight other states, according to the release.

BXS shares were trading at $24.45 as of 11:11 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $14.79 to $26.24.