Simmons First profits fall 3%

Pine Bluff, Ark.-based Simmons First National Corp. (Nasdaq: SFNC) recorded second-quarter earnings of $6.5 million, a 3.1 percent decrease compared to profits of $6.7 million in the same quarter last year.

The holding company, which operates its sole Missouri Simmons First National Bank branch in Springfield at 3333 E. Battlefield Road, posted earnings per diluted share of 38 cents in the quarter that ended June 30. Those earnings represent a 1-cent decrease from second-quarter 2011, according to a news release.

During the quarter, total loans - including those covered by Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. loss-share agreements - were $1.7 billion, a $98 million drop compared to the same quarter in 2011. “The majority of this decrease is related to a $79 million decrease in FDIC-covered loans and a $14 million decrease in our student loan portfolio, both of which were expected,” Simmons First Chairman and CEO J. Thomas May said in the release.

Second-quarter financial notes:

• Simmons First's interest income was $63.2 million, down from $64.9 million a year ago. Its interest expense decreased to $8.2 million from $10.8 million.
• Provision for loan losses dropped 74.2 percent to $1.5 million from $6 million.
• The company's Tier 1 capital was $389.7 million as of June 30, compared to $384.2 million at the end of the prior quarter.

At the end of the second quarter, Simmons First's assets were $3.3 billion, its deposits were $2.6 billion and its liabilities were $2.8 billion, the release said.

The company's shares were trading at $23.56 as of 10:53 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $18.71 to $28.54.