Commerce Bank’s quarterly profits dip

Kansas City-based Commerce Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq: CBSH) produced first-quarter net income available to common shareholders of $94.9 million, a nearly 4% decrease from $98.7 million a year earlier.

The operator of six Commerce Bank branches in Springfield reported diluted share earnings of 85 cents for the three months ended March 31, a 3-cent dip from first-quarter 2018, according to a news release.

“While the U.S. economy remained solid and profits this quarter were strong at our bank, we experienced only modest growth in average loans, driven mainly by the commercial category,” CEO John Kemper said in the release. “Consumer lending was seasonally lower, especially in auto and consumer credit card loans.”

First-quarter financial notes:
• Revenue rose 3.9% to $324.7 million compared with the same quarter of 2018.
• Net loans increased 1.6% to $14 billion.
• Salaries and employee benefits were up 5.4% to $122 million.

As of March 31, Commerce’s assets were $24.9 billion and deposits were $19.8 billion, according to the release.

CBSH were trading at $60.11 as of 8:48 a.m., compared with a 52-week range of $53.40 to $69.10.