BancorpSouth records $32M in 1Q profits

Tupelo, Miss.-based BancorpSouth Inc. (NYSE: BXS) posted $32.3 million in first-quarter profits, a 13.4 percent improvement over $28.4 million earnings a year earlier.

Diluted share earnings for the holding company of six BancorpSouth branches in Springfield were 33 cents for the quarter, up 3 cents from the same three-month period ending March 31, 2014, according to a news release.

“Earnings for the quarter benefited from growth in our noninterest products,” BancorpSouth Chairman and CEO Dan Rollins said in the release, pointing to the insurance, mortgage and wealth management business. “The growth in each of these products is reflective of our overall strategic focus on growing all areas of our company, as well as our ability to attract quality producers.”

Rollins said the company’s insurance producers generated $33.5 million in commission revenue, the largest quarterly total in the company’s history; the mortgage team produced $311.1 million in loans, contributing to mortgage lending revenue of $8.6 million; and wealth managers reported $6.2 million in revenue.

The chief executive noted a negative provision for credit losses of $5 million further benefited the company’s first-quarter results.

BancorpSouth held $13.6 billion in assets and $11.3 billion in deposits at the end of the first quarter. The company has 285 commercial banking, mortgage and insurance operations in eight Midsouth states, according to the release.

BXS shares were trading at $24.61 as of 11:15 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $19.22 to $25.43.