UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549
FORM 8-K
CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act of 1934
Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported) October 18, 2007
SIMMONS FIRST NATIONAL CORPORATION
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
Arkansas | 0-6253 | 71-0407808 |
(State or other jurisdiction | (Commission | (I.R.S. Employer |
of incorporation) | File Number) | Identification No.) |
501 Main Street, Pine Bluff, Arkansas | | 71601 |
(Address of principal executive offices) | | (Zip Code) |
(870) 541-1000
(Registrant's telephone number, including area code)
Not Applicable
(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):
o Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act
o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
ITEM: 2.02 RESULTS OF OPERATIONS AND FINANCIAL CONDITION
The following is the text of a press release issued by the registrant at 8:15 a.m. Central Time on October 18, 2007.
SIMMONS FIRST ANNOUNCES RECORD EARNINGS
Pine Bluff, AR – Simmons First National Corporation (NASDAQ-GS: SFNC) today announced record earnings for the three and nine-month periods ended September 30, 2007. Net income for the third quarter was $7.5 million, or $0.53 diluted earnings per share, compared to $0.51 per share for the same period in 2006, an increase of $0.02, or 3.9%.
For the nine-month period ended September 30, 2007, net income was $21.2 million. Diluted earnings per share for the nine-month period were $1.48, an increase of $0.05, or 3.5% over the same period in 2006.
“Considering the uncertainty relative to the economy, we are very pleased with our third quarter and year-to-date earnings,” commented J. Thomas May, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “In particular, a better than expected loan growth and margin, coupled with excellent asset quality and good expense control, produced better than expected results. Bottom line is that our associates continue to do a great job in serving our customers throughout Arkansas, which in turn is rewarding our shareholders.”
The Company’s net interest income for the third quarter of 2007 increased 5.3% to $23.6 million compared to $22.4 million for 2006. Net interest margin increased ten basis points to 4.01% from the third quarter of 2006 and five basis points from the second quarter of 2007.
The Company’s loan portfolio totaled $1.88 billion at September 30, 2007 compared to $1.79 billion at September 30, 2006, an increase of 4.9%. The growth was primarily attributable to increases in commercial loans, real estate loans and the credit card portfolio. “Credit card growth continued to improve significantly due to the tremendous response we have received regarding Simmons First credit card products,” stated Mr. May. “While the national credit card industry continues to be very competitive, several national publications and websites, including CNN Money, MSNBC and Money Magazine, recently recognized Simmons First as having two of the best credit cards in America for customers with excellent credit.”
Asset quality remained strong with the allowance for loan losses as a percent of total loans at 1.34% as of September 30, 2007. Non-performing loans equaled 0.53% of total loans, while the allowance for loan losses equaled 251% of non-performing loans. The Company’s annualized net charge-offs to total loans for the third quarter of 2007 was 0.20%. Excluding credit cards, the annualized net charge-offs to total loans for the third quarter was 0.13%.
Total assets for the Company were $2.7 billion and deposits were $2.2 billion at September 30, 2007. Stockholders’ equity increased 5.1% to $268 million at September 30, 2007 compared to $255 million at September 30, 2006. Book value per share increased 7.0% to $19.20 at September 30, 2007 compared to $17.94 at September 30, 2006.
Simmons First recently opened two financial centers in North Little Rock. “We are excited about our initial entries into the new market of North Little Rock,” said May. In addition, new financial centers are under construction in Paragould and Little Rock – Midtown (near War Memorial Stadium and UAMS), along with a new regional headquarters in Rogers for the Northwest Arkansas affiliate.
Simmons First National Corporation is an Arkansas based financial holding company with eight community banks in Pine Bluff, Lake Village, Jonesboro, Rogers, Searcy, Russellville, El Dorado and Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Company’s eight banks conduct financial operations from 86 offices, of which 83 are financial centers, in 47 communities.
CONFERENCE CALL
Management will conduct a conference call to review this information at 3:00 p.m. Central Time on Thursday, October 18, 2007. Interested parties can listen to this call by calling 1-800-854-4175 (United States and Canada only) and asking for the Simmons First National Corporation conference call. A recorded playback of the call will be available the next morning by calling 1-800-642-1687. The passcode for this playback is 18427327 and the recording will be available through the end of business October 31, 2007. In addition, the call will be available live or in recorded version on the Company’s website at www.simmonsfirst.com under the “webcast” icon.
GENERAL
Statements in this press release that are not historical facts should be considered forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements of this type speak only as of the date of this news release. By nature, forward-looking statements involve inherent risk and uncertainties. Various factors, including, but not limited to, economic conditions, credit quality, interest rates, loan demand and changes in the assumptions used in making the forward-looking statements, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Additional information on factors that might affect Simmons First National Corporation’s financial results is included in its Form 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
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FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:
DAVID W. GARNER
Senior Vice President and Investor Relations Officer
Simmons First National Corporation
(870) 541-1000