Shares Of Commerce Bancshares Plunge On Earns Miss

NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of Commerce Bancshares Inc. plunged Tuesday after the regional bank said its profit fell 52 percent in the first quarter.

The Kansas City, Mo.-based bank reported net income of $30.8 million, or 40 cents per share, compared with $64.2 million, or 84 cents per share, in the year-ago period. Results came in well below the average analyst estimate of 49 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters.

The company noted that the first quarter of 2008 included a $22.2 million pretax gain from the sale of Visa Inc. stock and the reversal of certain litigation charges that added about 26 cents to earnings per share.

Its shares dropped $4.86, or 12.4 percent, to $34.39 in afternoon trading. They are down about 11 percent this year.

Net interest income, or income generated from loans and deposits, rose 7 percent to $150 million from $140.1 million, boosted by strong deposit growth. Average deposits grew 6.5 percent during the quarter, the company said.

Results were hampered as the bank was forced to set aside more money to cover potential loan losses. Commerce's provision for loan losses more than doubled over the first quarter of last year to $43.2 million. Net chargeoffs, or loans written off as unpaid, more than tripled to $34.9 million from $11.9 million, mostly due to higher losses among consumer credit, business and real estate loans.