Billy Carroll, president and CEO of SmartFinancial, speaks during an interview in the offices of Cornerstone Bank onTuesday, Sept. 1, 2015, in Chattanooga, Tenn. The parent company of SmartBank said its second quarter earnings more than doubled the same period a year ago after the Knoxville-based banking firm scrapped one bank acquisition and realized operating efficiencies from two others.
SmartFinancial, Inc., reported net income of $9.1 million for the second quarter of 2019, or 65 cents per share, compared to $3.9 million, or 32 cents per share, a year earlier.
Net operating earnings which excludes securities gains, merger termination fee and merger related and restructuring expenses, totaled $5.6 million in the second quarter of 2019 compared to $4.8 million in the second quarter of 2018.
"This was a very solid quarter for our company," SmartFinancial CEO Billy Carroll said. "We took advantage of a very positive earnings event, restructured our finance team and centralized our deposit operations, while showing strong core deposit growth and nice core earnings. We are positioned well to continue building on our strong foundation."
SmartFinancial said it was paid $6.4 million in termination fees when it scrapped a planned $158.2 purchase of Entegra Financial Corp. in North Carolina after Entegra got a got a higher $219.8 million offer from First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. in Raleigh, North Carolina and SmartFinancial opted not to match the competing offer. SmartBank also said it realized operating efficiencies and income gains from its purchases last year of Tennessee Bancshares, Inc. and Foothills Bancorp, Inc.
Miller Welborn, the bank chairman in Chattanooga, said SmartBank "is on track and executing our strategic plan.
"Our team has truly gelled and we are very excited about what the second half of the year holds as we continue to build value for our stakeholders," he said.
SmartBank posted revenue of $35.7 million in the period. Its revenue net of interest expense was $29.2 million, beating Wall Street forecasts.
SmartFinancial shares have increased 23% since the beginning of the year. But the stock has decreased 11% in the last 12 months.