ITEM: 2.02 RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION The following is the text of a press release issued by the registrant at 8:20 A.M. Central Standard Time on April 21, 2005. SIMMONS FIRST ANNOUNCES RECORD FIRST QUARTER EARNINGS Pine Bluff, AR – Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ NM: SFNC) today announced record first quarter earnings for the period ended March 31, 2005. Net income for the quarter was $5,860,000, a $449,000, or 8.3% increase over net income of $5,411,000 for the first quarter of 2004. Diluted earnings per share were $0.40 for the first quarter of 2005 compared to $0.37 per share for the same period in 2004, an increase of 8.1%. “With first quarter earnings at a record level, we are obviously pleased with the results. More importantly, we are pleased with the positive trend that we are seeing in increased demand in our loan pipeline,” said J. Thomas May, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “The increase in earnings over the same quarter last year is primarily attributable to an improvement in the Company’s net interest margin, achieved through growth in loans and from the reduction in interest expense associated with the prepayment of $17.3 million of trust preferred securities on December 31, 2004.” The Company’s loan portfolio totaled $1.6 billion at March 31, 2005, an increase of $82 million, or 5.5% over the same period last year. The growth was attributable to increased demand the Company experienced in its construction, residential and commercial real estate loan portfolios. Deposits were $2.0 billion at March 31, 2005, an $84 million, or 4.3% increase from March 31, 2004. Total assets were $2.4 billion at March 31, 2005, an increase of $48 million over the quarter ended March 31, 2004. Stockholders’ equity at March 31, 2005 was $232 million, a $2.6 million increase from March 31, 2004. Asset quality for the first quarter continued to strengthen as non-performing assets decreased by $5.1 million from the same period last year, a 28% decrease. Non-performing loans to total loans improved to 0.75% from 1.05% from the same period last year, while the allowance for loan losses improved to 223% of non-performing loans as of March 31, 2005 compared to 170% as of March 31, 2004. At quarter end, the allowance for loan losses equaled 1.67% of total loans. Net interest income for the first quarter of 2005 increased 9.8% to $22,093,000 compared to $20,115,000 for the first quarter of 2004. Net interest margin, on a fully taxable equivalent basis, was 4.17% in the first quarter of 2005 compared to 4.03% in the first quarter of 2004, an increase of 14 basis points. |