Home BancShares, Inc. Tops Earnings Per Share and Revenue for the Fourth Quarter

CONWAY, Ark., Jan. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Home BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ GS: HOMB), parent company of Centennial Bank, released fourth quarter earnings today revealing four consecutive quarters of increased profitability.

Highlights of the Fourth Quarter of 2019:

"I am very pleased with our fourth quarter results as well as our performance for all of 2019," said John Allison, Chairman. "Increasing our profitability during a year of fluctuating interest rates is certainly an accomplishment to be proud of," continued Allison.

"Our steady increase in two key banking metrics: diluted earnings per share and return on assets, showcase the solid foundation of Home BancShares," said Tracy French, Centennial Bank President and Chief Executive Officer.

 Operating Highlights

Our net interest margin was 4.24% for the three-month period ended December 31, 2019 compared to 4.32% for the three-month period ended September 30, 2019. The yield on loans was 5.90% and 6.08% for the three months ended December 31, 2019 and September 30, 2019, respectively, as average loans decreased from $10.94 billion to $10.87 billion. Additionally, the rate on interest bearing deposits decreased to 1.21% as of December 31, 2019 from 1.36% as of September 30, 2019, with average balances of $8.82 billion and $8.64 billion, respectively. 

From the third quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2019, we experienced a $468,000 increase in investment premium amortization primarily resulting from increased prepayment speeds on investment securities due to the declining interest rate environment. This increased investment premium amortization negatively impacted the net interest margin for the quarter ended December 31, 2019 by 1.4 basis points.

During the third quarter of 2019, we had several interest income events primarily related to large payoffs.  These events totaled $2.8 million of interest income and increased the net interest margin by 8.4 basis points for the third quarter of 2019. During the fourth quarter of 2019, event interest income was $549,000 which increased the net interest margin by 1.7 basis points.  The lower event interest income from the third quarter of 2019 to the fourth quarter of 2019 resulted in a 6.7 basis point decline for the margin.

For the three months ended December 31, 2019 and September 30, 2019, we recognized $9.1 million and $8.5 million, respectively, in total net accretion for acquired loans and deposits. The $671,000 increase in accretion income increased the net interest margin by 2.0 basis points for the fourth quarter of 2019.

Purchase accounting accretion on acquired loans was $9.1 million and $8.4 million and average purchase accounting loan discounts were $91.9 million and $112.6 million for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2019 and September 30, 2019, respectively. Net amortization of time deposit premiums was $30,000 per quarter and net average remaining CD premiums were $266,000 and $297,000 for the three-month periods ended December 31, 2019 and September 30, 2019, respectively.

Net interest income on a fully taxable equivalent basis decreased $3.1 million, or 2.16%, to $141.1 million for the three-month period ended December 31, 2019, from $144.2 million for the three-month period ended September 30, 2019. This decrease in net interest income for the three-month period ended December 31, 2019 was the result of a $6.9 million decrease in interest income which was partially offset by a $3.8 million decrease in interest expense. The $6.9 million decrease in interest income was primarily the result of a $6.3 million decrease in loan interest income, a $490,000 decrease in investment income and a $119,000 decrease in income on deposits with other banks. The $3.8 million decrease in interest expense was primarily the result of a $2.7 million decrease in interest expense on deposits. This decrease was the result of a $2.2 million decrease in interest expense on savings and interest-bearing transaction accounts and a $534,000 decrease in interest expense on time deposits.

During the fourth quarter of 2019, no provision for loan loss was recorded. The Company continued to see strong asset quality. Non-performing loans to total loans was 0.50% as of December 31, 2019 compared to 0.54% as of September 30, 2019, an improvement of 7.26%. Non-performing assets to total assets improved by 5.63% from 0.45% as of September 30, 2019 to 0.43% as of December 31, 2019. For the fourth quarter of 2019, net charge-offs were $2.2 million compared to net charge-offs of $1.8 million for the third quarter of 2019.

The Company reported $28.0 million of non-interest income for the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to $24.7 million for the third quarter of 2019. The most important components of the fourth quarter non-interest income were $10.6 million from other service charges and fees, $6.8 million from service charges on deposits accounts, $3.8 million from mortgage lending income, $2.5 million from other income and $2.0 million from dividends from FHLB, FRB, FNBB & other equity investments. Non-interest income for the fourth quarter of 2019 includes $861,000 in dividends related to a special dividend from an equity investment.

Non-interest expense for the fourth quarter of 2019 was $71.3 million compared to $67.8 million for the third quarter of 2019. The most important components of the fourth quarter non-interest expense were $38.4 million from salaries and employee benefits, $19.9 million in other expense and $8.7 million in occupancy and equipment expenses. For the fourth quarter of 2019, our efficiency ratio was 41.26%. 

Non-interest expense for the fourth quarter of 2019 included $631,000 in other professional fees related to an outsourced special project, and non-interest expense for the third quarter of 2019 included a $2.3 million FDIC small bank assessment credit.

Financial Condition

Total loans receivable were $10.87 billion at December 31, 2019 compared to $11.07 billion at December 31, 2018. Total deposits were $11.28 billion at December 31, 2019 compared to $10.90 billion at December 31, 2018. Total assets were $15.03 billion at December 31, 2019 compared to $15.30 billion at December 31, 2018.

During the fourth quarter 2019, the Company experienced approximately $97.8 million in organic loan growth. Centennial CFG experienced $99.4 million of organic loan growth and had loans of $1.60 billion at December 31, 2019. Our legacy footprint experienced $1.7 million in organic loan decline during the quarter.  

Non-performing loans at December 31, 2019 were $17.9 million, $34.7 million, $429,000, $1.8 million and zero in the Arkansas, Florida, Alabama, Shore Premier Finance and Centennial CFG markets, respectively, for a total of $54.8 million. Non-performing assets at December 31, 2019 were $22.9 million, $39.2 million, $463,000, $1.8 million and zero in the Arkansas, Florida, Alabama, Shore Premier Finance and Centennial CFG markets, respectively, for a total of $64.4 million. 

The Company's allowance for loan losses was $102.1 million at December 31, 2019, or 0.94% of total loans, compared to $108.8 million, or 0.98% of total loans, at December 31, 2018. As of December 31, 2019, and December 31, 2018, the Company's allowance for loan losses was 186.2% and 169.4% of its total non-performing loans, respectively.

Stockholders' equity was $2.51 billion at December 31, 2019 compared to $2.35 billion at December 31, 2018, an increase of approximately $161.6 million. The increase in stockholders' equity is primarily associated with the $204.4 million increase in retained earnings and the $30.0 million increase in accumulated other comprehensive income which were partially offset by the repurchase of $84.9 million of our common stock during 2019.  Book value per common share was $15.10 at December 31, 2019 compared to $13.76 at December 31, 2018.  Tangible book value per common share (non-GAAP) was $9.12 at December 31, 2019 compared to $7.90 at December 31, 2018, an increase of 15.4%. 

Branches

The Company currently has 77 branches in Arkansas, 78 branches in Florida, 5 branches in Alabama and one branch in New York City.

Conference Call

Management will conduct a conference call to review this information at 1:00 p.m. CT (2:00 ET) on Thursday, January 16, 2020.  We encourage all participants to pre-register for the conference call using the following link:  http://dpregister.com/10137496.  Callers who pre-register will be given dial-in instructions and a unique PIN to gain immediate access to the live call.  Participants may pre-register now, or at any time prior to the call, and will immediately receive simple instructions via email.  The Home BancShares conference call will also be automatically scheduled as an event in your Outlook calendar.

Those without internet access or unable to pre-register may dial in and listen to the live call by calling 1-877-508-9586 and asking for the Home BancShares conference call.  A replay of the call will be available by calling 1-877-344-7529, Passcode: 10137496, which will be available until January 23, 2020 at 10:59 p.m. CT (11:59 p.m. ET).  Internet access to the call will be available live or in recorded version on the Company's website at www.homebancshares.com under "Investor Relations" for 12 months.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release contains financial information determined by methods other than in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The Company's management uses these non-GAAP financial measures--including net income (earnings), as adjusted; diluted earnings per common share, as adjusted; return on average assets, as adjusted; return on average common equity, as adjusted; return on average tangible common equity; return on average tangible common equity, as adjusted; efficiency ratio, as adjusted, tangible book value per common share and tangible common equity to tangible assets--to provide meaningful supplemental information regarding our performance.  These measures typically adjust GAAP performance measures to include the tax benefit associated with revenue items that are tax-exempt, as well as adjust income available to common shareholders for certain significant items or transactions.  Since the presentation of these GAAP performance measures and their impact differ between companies, management believes presentations of these non-GAAP financial measures provide useful supplemental information that is essential to a proper understanding of the operating results of the Company's business. These non-GAAP disclosures should not be viewed as a substitute for operating results determined in accordance with GAAP, nor are they necessarily comparable to non-GAAP performance measures that may be presented by other companies. Where non-GAAP financial measures are used, the comparable GAAP financial measure, as well as the reconciliation to the comparable GAAP financial measure, can be found in the tables of this release.

General

This release may contain forward-looking statements regarding the Company's plans, expectations, goals and outlook for the future. 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 could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements.  These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:  economic conditions, credit quality, interest rates, loan demand, the ability to successfully integrate new acquisitions, legislative and regulatory changes and risks associated with current and future regulations, technological changes and cybersecurity risks, competition from other financial institutions, changes in the assumptions used in making the forward-looking statements, and other factors described in reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), including those factors set forth in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 filed with the SEC on February 26, 2019.

Home BancShares, Inc. is a bank holding company, headquartered in Conway, Arkansas. Its wholly-owned subsidiary, Centennial Bank, provides a broad range of commercial and retail banking plus related financial services to businesses, real estate developers, investors, individuals and municipalities. Centennial Bank has branch locations in Arkansas, Florida, South Alabama and New York City. The Company's common stock is traded through the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "HOMB."

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

Donna Townsell
Director of Investor Relations
Home BancShares, Inc.
(501) 328-4625