Commerce posts 66 cents per share in 3Q earnings

Commerce Bancshares Inc. posted 66 cents per share in earnings for the third quarter, according to its quarterly report announced Wednesday.

The per-share earnings are a 106 percent increase from the 32 cents per share posted in the third quarter of 2008 and a 38 percent increase from the second quarter of 2009. For the year so far, earnings total $1.54 per share compared to $1.90 per share for the first nine months of 2008.

Net income for the quarter totaled $51.6 million, compared to $37 million last quarter and $24.7 million last year. Income for the year is $119.5 million, down from $144.8 million a year ago.

Kansas City-based Commerce, which operates more than 370 locations in Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Oklahoma and Colorado, posted a $21 million after-tax loss on the purchase of auction-rate securities, amounting to a loss of 27 cents per share, but return on average assets totaled 1.16 percent and return on average equity was 11.5 percent.

"During this quarter we strengthened our balance sheet, enhancing both our capital and liquidity positions while also building our loan loss reserves," said Chairman and CEO David W. Kemper in a news release. "Liquidity also increased as our loan-to-deposit ratio declined to 77.4 percent. During the quarter we increased our allowance for loan losses by $4.5 million to $190.5 million, representing 1.85 percent of outstanding loans. Nonperforming assets ... declined by $2.5 million to $129.2 million, or 1.26 percent of loans."

Total assets as of September 30 were $18 billion, total loans were $10.6 billion and total deposits were $13.8 billion.

Shares of Commerce Bancshares (Nasdaq: CBSH) closed Tuesday at $37.13, compared to a 52-week range of $27.80 to $46.38. Shares were up more than 7 percent to $39.79 as of 9 a.m.

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