Commerce Bank finishes 2012 with earnings bump

Kansas City-based Commerce Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq: CBSH) posted fourth-quarter earnings of $66.8 million, an 8.6 percent increase compared to profits of $61.5 million in the same quarter of 2011.

The company, which operates seven Commerce Bank branches in Springfield, recorded earnings per diluted share of 72 cents for the quarter ended Dec. 31, up from 66-cent earnings in fourth-quarter 2011, according to a news release.

Fourth-quarter financial notes:

• Net interest income declined slightly to $161.3 million from $161.8 in the same quarter of 2011.
• Noninterest income jumped to $103.3 million from $94 million, while noninterest expense increased to $158.3 million from $156 million.
• Salaries and employee benefits totaled $94.6 million, up from $88 million.

Commerce netted full-year profits of $269.3 million, up 5 percent from $256.3 million the prior year. According to Chairman and CEO David Kemper, the 2012 earnings represent a company record.

"Record earnings during the last two years have strengthened our capital and liquidity and allowed us to pay a special dividend in December of $1.50 per share in advance of the higher tax rates now in effect," Kemper added in the release.

As of Dec. 31, Commerce's assets were $22.2 billion, loans were $9.8 billion and deposits were $18.3 billion. The company operates roughly 360 branches in Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado.

The company's shares were trading at $36.64 as of 8:33 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $34.45 to $40.70.[[In-content Ad]]