BancorpSouth moves 1Q profits into the black

Tupelo, Miss.-based BancorpSouth Inc. (NYSE: BXS) reported $22.9 million in first-quarter net income, a 4,729 percent increase compared to a net loss of $494,000 in the same quarter of 2011.

The holding company for six BancorpSouth branches in Springfield posted earnings per diluted share of 25 cents during the latest quarter, compared to a loss of 1 cent per diluted share in first-quarter 2011, according to a news release.

First-quarter 2012 highlights:

• Provision for credit losses totaled $10 million, compared to $53.5 million in the first quarter of 2011.
• Net interest revenue was down 3.5 percent to $105.6 million, noninterest revenue was up 6 percent to $72.4 million and noninterest expense was up 4.4 percent to $135.7 million.
• The company's Tier 1 risk-based capital ratio stood at 13.1 percent at the end of the quarter, while its total risk-based capital was 14.4 percent.

"Our results for the first quarter reflect our highest level of quarterly earnings in more than two years," BancorpSouth Chairman and CEO Aubrey Patterson said in the release. "Earnings for the quarter reflect decreases in credit costs as a result of asset quality improvement as well as another exceptional quarter for our noninterest revenue lines of business, particularly our mortgage operation.

"Our mortgage business generated $395.1 million of new loans during the first quarter and contributed $15.1 million of revenue, including a positive mortgage servicing rights valuation adjustment of $3.7 million."

Comparatively, for its first-quarter 2011 net loss, Patterson had pointed to a mounting provision for credit losses, a decline in mortgage lending and an increase in salaries and benefits.

At the end of the latest quarter, BancorpSouth's assets were $13.3 billion and its deposits were $11.1 billion. The company operates 290 commercial banking, mortgage, insurance, trust and broker/dealer locations in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Tennessee, according to the release.

The company's shares were trading at $13.61 as of 10:41 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $8.23 to $14.93.