Home BancShares, Inc. Reaches $300 Million in Net Income for 2018 and Earns #1 Ranking on the Forbes “Best Banks in America” List Two Years in a Row

CONWAY, Ark., Jan. 17, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Home BancShares, Inc. (NASDAQ GS: HOMB), parent company of Centennial Bank, today announced reaching $300.4 million in net income for the year of 2018, an increase of $165.3 million or 122.4%, compared to $135.1 million for the year of 2017.  Additionally, the Company ranked #1 on the Forbes “Best Banks in America” list for the second consecutive year.

Highlights of the Fourth Quarter of 2018:

“2017 was a great year for HOMB; however, 2018 was even better,” said John Allison, Chairman. “Even though bank stocks have underperformed as a sector for the second consecutive year, we didn’t. We saw our earnings, as adjusted (non-GAAP), grow from a record $204.8 million in 2017 to a record $305.2 million in 2018 and were recognized again by Forbes as the Best Bank in America for the second year in a row,” Allison continued.

“Reaching a record $1.14 billion in loan originations this quarter indicates that loan demand is still out there,” said Tracy French, Centennial Bank President and Chief Executive Officer. “I am pleased with our $239.1 million in loan growth for the fourth quarter,” French added.

“I am proud once again and for the 31^st time to report record quarterly earnings, as adjusted (non-GAAP), when compared to the same quarter of previous year,” said Randy Sims, Home BancShares, Inc. Chief Executive Officer. “This has been a special year and we anticipate continuing our record pace in 2019,” added Sims.

Operating Highlights

Net interest margin, on a fully taxable equivalent basis, was 4.30% for the quarter just ended compared to 4.47% for the same quarter in 2017.   Net interest margin for the fourth quarter of 2018 includes accretion income of $9.4 million and average purchase accounting loan discounts of $141.2 million, compared to accretion income of $12.4 million and average purchase accounting loan discounts of $178.0 million for the fourth quarter of 2017.

During the fourth quarter of 2018, the Company did not record a provision for loan loss compared to $4.9 million recorded in the fourth quarter of 2017.  The Company continues to see strong asset quality including a decline in net charge-offs.  Non-performing loans to total loans was 0.58% as of December 31, 2018 compared to 0.43% as of December 31, 2017. Non-performing assets to total assets also increased from 0.44% as of December 31, 2017 to 0.51% as of December 31, 2018.  For the fourth quarter of 2018, net charge-offs were $1.4 million compared to net charge-offs of $6.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2017.

The Company reported $23.5 million of non-interest income for the fourth quarter of 2018, compared to $27.3 million for the fourth quarter of 2017.  Excluding securities gains during the fourth quarter of 2017, non-interest income decreased $2.6 million from $26.1 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 to $23.5 million for the fourth quarter of 2018. The most important components of the fourth quarter non-interest income were $7.6 million from other service charges and fees, $7.0 million from service charges on deposits accounts, $2.6 million from mortgage lending income, $2.7 million from other income and $2.0 million from dividends from the FHLB, FRB, FNBB & other equity investments.  The Company exceeded $10 billion in assets during the first quarter of 2017 and became subject to the Durbin Amendment to the Dodd-Frank Act interchange fee restrictions beginning in the third quarter of 2018. The Durbin Amendment negatively impacted debit card and ATM fees beginning in the second half of 2018. The Company estimates quarterly interchange fees are approximately $3.0 million dollars lower as a result of the Durbin Amendment.

Non-interest expense for the fourth quarter of 2018 was $71.3 million compared to $63.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2017.  Excluding $6.5 million in merger and hurricane expenses during the fourth quarter of 2018, non-interest expense increased $1.6 million from $63.2 million for the fourth quarter of 2017 to $64.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2018.  For the fourth quarter of 2018, our efficiency ratio increased to 42.18% from the 37.05% reported for the fourth quarter of 2017. 

Financial Condition

Total loans receivable were $11.07 billion at December 31, 2018 compared to $10.33 billion at December 31, 2017.  Total deposits were $10.90 billion at December 31, 2018 compared to $10.39 billion at December 31, 2017.  Total assets were $15.30 billion at December 31, 2018 compared to $14.45 billion at December 31, 2017.

During the fourth quarter 2018 the Company experienced approximately $239.1 million in organic loan growth.  Centennial CFG experienced $86.6 million of organic loan growth and had loans of $1.56 billion at December 31, 2018.  Our legacy footprint produced approximately $152.5 million in organic loan growth during the quarter.

Non-performing loans at December 31, 2018 were $17.4 million, $43.3 million, $179,000, $3.4 million and zero in the Arkansas, Florida, Alabama, Shore Premier and Centennial CFG markets, respectively, for a total of $64.2 million.  Non-performing assets at December 31, 2018 were $24.0 million, $50.2 million, $306,000, $3.4 million and zero in the Arkansas, Florida, Alabama, Shore Premier and Centennial CFG markets, respectively, for a total of $78.0 million. 

The Company’s allowance for loan losses was $108.8 million at December 31, 2018, or 0.98% of total loans, compared to $110.3 million, or 1.07% of total loans, at December 31, 2017. As of December 31, 2018, and December 31, 2017, the Company’s allowance for loan losses was 169% and 247% of its total non-performing loans, respectively.

Stockholders’ equity was $2.35 billion at December 31, 2018 compared to $2.20 billion at December 31, 2017, an increase of $145.6 million. The increase in stockholders’ equity is primarily associated with the $221.5 million increase in retained earnings and the issuance of $28.2 million in stock as a part of the acquisition of Shore Premier Finance, partially offset by $10.4 million of comprehensive loss and the repurchase of $104.3 million of our common stock during 2018, which includes the repurchase during the 4^th quarter of 2018 of the shares issued as part of the acquisition of the Shore Premier Finance. Book value per common share was $13.76 at December 31, 2018 compared to $12.70 at December 31, 2017.  Tangible book value per common share (non-GAAP) was $7.90 at December 31, 2018 compared to $7.07 at December 31, 2017, an increase of 11.7%. 

Branches

The Company currently has 77 branches in Arkansas, 76 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 17, 2019.  We encourage all participants to pre-register for the conference call using the following link:  http://dpregister.com/10127084.  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: 10127084, which will be available until January 24, 2019 at 10:59 p.m. CT (11:59 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 and tangible book value per common share--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 contains 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, increased regulatory requirements as a result of our exceeding $10 billion in total assets, legislative and regulatory changes, 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, 2017 filed with the SEC on February 27, 2018.

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