Home BancShares, Inc. Announces Net Income Of $17.6 Million For 2010

CONWAY, Ark., Jan. 20, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Home BancShares, Inc. (Nasdaq:HOMB), parent company of Centennial Bank, today announced net income for the year ended December 31, 2010 of $17.6 million compared to $26.8 million for the year ended 2009. Diluted earnings per share for the year ended 2010 were $0.52, compared to $1.02 for 2009.

For the fourth quarter of 2010, the Company recorded a net loss of $13.8 million, or $0.51 diluted loss per share compared to net income of $7.9 million, or $0.25 diluted earnings per share for the same period in 2009.

Because acquisitions are a growth and a capital management strategy, cash earnings (net income excluding amortization of intangibles after-tax) are useful in evaluating the Company. Cash diluted loss per share for the fourth quarter of 2010 was $0.49 compared to $0.26 diluted earnings per share for the same period in 2009.

During the fourth quarter of 2010, the Company experienced several financial items that it pre-announced on January 3, 2010. Among these items include $25.2 million in pre-tax bargain purchase gains from two FDIC-assisted acquisitions, a $53.4 million charge for impairment to certain loans which resulted in the Company recording a fourth quarter of 2010 provision for loan losses of $63.0 million, a $3.6 million charge to investment securities as a result of an apparent fraud on bonds sold in Arkansas and $2.2 million of merger expenses from our two fourth quarter FDIC-assisted acquisitions. The combined financial impact of these items to the Company on an after-tax basis is a loss of $26.5 million or $0.93 diluted loss per share.

"Due to our conservative stance, we have maintained strong capital and reserves for difficult times like these. Our sound balance sheet affords us the ability to take these charge-offs and provisions without raising additional capital," said John Allison, Chairman. "We have remained extremely well capitalized through the years. Even after these charge-offs and provisions, we will continue to have capital levels considerably above the capital requirement of our regulators."