Commerce Bank profits drop in first quarter

Kansas City-based Commerce Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq: CBSH) posted first-quarter profits of $61 million, a 7.3 percent decrease compared to $65.8 million in earnings during the same quarter of 2012.

The bank holding company, which operates seven Commerce Bank branches in Springfield, reported earnings per diluted share of 67 cents for the quarter that ended March 31, a 3-cent drop from first-quarter 2012, according to a news release.

“We continued to see solid growth in both our loan and deposit balances," Commerce Chairman and CEO David Kemper said in the release. "Compared to the previous quarter, average loans increased $248 million, or 10.4 percent annualized, while average deposits grew by $735 million."

First-quarter financial notes:

• Commerce's net interest income decreased 5.9 percent to $150.3 million from $159.7 million in the same quarter of 2012.
• Provision for loan losses dropped 59.8 percent to $3.3 million from $8.2 million.
• Noninterest income improved by 5.6 percent to $99.9 million from $94.6 million, while noninterest expense rose 3 percent to $155 million from $150.5 million.
• The company repurchased roughly 808,000 shares of its common stock during the quarter at an average price per share of $37.13.

As of March 31, Commerce's assets were $22.2 billion, its total loans were $10 billion and its deposits were $18.5 billion. The company operates 360 locations in Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado, according to the release.

CBSH shares were trading at $39.59 as of 10:05 a.m., just under a 52-week high of $40.93.