Bank Of The Ozarks Q1 Profit Tops Estimate

(RTTNews) - Bank of the Ozarks, Inc. (OZRK) reported net income for the first quarter of $39.9 million or $0.47 per share, compared to $25.3 million or $0.34 per share for the year-ago quarter.

The latest quarter results include $2.3 million of tax-exempt income from bank owned life insurance death benefits, $2.5 million in net gains on sales of investment securities, $2.5 million in prepayment penalties from prepaying Federal Home Loan Bank advances, acquisition-related and systems conversion expenses of about $1.3 million and software and contract termination charges of about $0.7 million. Net of taxes, the items added about $0.01 to the company's earnings per share in the latest quarter.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to earn $0.42 per share for the first quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

Net interest income for the first quarter rose 63.2% to $85.5 million, a 63.2% increase from $52.4 million for the first quarter of 2014. Provision for loan and lease losses for the first quarter was $6.3 million, compared to $1.3 million in the prior year quarter.

Non-interest income for the first quarter increased 42.8% to $29.1 million.