Simmons First bumps yearly earnings on strong 4Q

Bolstered by strong fourth-quarter results, Pine Bluff, Ark.-based Simmons First National Corp. (Nasdaq: SFNC) improved 2014 earnings by 54 percent.

Profits for the year jumped to $35.7 million, or $2.11 per diluted share, from $23.2 million, or $1.42 per dilute share, a year earlier, according to a news release.

Fourth-quarter net income rose 233.9 percent to $12.6 million from $3.8 million in 2013.

“We are pleased with our ability to integrate our acquisitions and continue to make good progress with our efficiency initiatives, both in revenue enhancement and in expense control,” Simmons First Chairman and CEO George Makris Jr. said in the release.

During 2014, Simmons First expanded its southwest Missouri presence with the purchase of Springfield-based Liberty Bancshares Inc. The all-stock transaction, valued at $206.9 million, is expected to close this spring. The 19-year old Liberty Bank held assets of $1.1 billion, loans of $811 million and deposits of $885 million and will continue to operate independently until systems are converted. Liberty Bank’s financials were not factored into the quarterly results.

As of Dec. 31, Simmons First’s assets were $4.6 billion, deposits were $3.9 billion and loans were $2.7 billion. The company, which operates a Simmons First National Bank branch at 3333 E. Battlefield Road, entered the local market with the 2010 purchase of 14-year-old Southwest Community Bank’s $96.6 million in assets, according to Springfield Business Journal archives.