Business
Business First Bancshares, Inc., Announces Financial Results for Fiscal Year 2022 and Q4 2022
BATON ROUGE, La., Jan. 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: BFST) (Business First), parent company of b1BANK, today announced
About this update from Business First Bancshares, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"BATON ROUGE, La., Jan. 25, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: BFST) (Business First), parent company of b1BANK, today announced its unaudited results for the year ended December 31, 2022, including net income available to common shareholders of $52.9 million, or $2.32 per diluted common share, an increase of $0.8 million and decrease of $0.21, respectively, from the prior year ended December 31, 2021. On a non-GAAP basis, core net income for the year ended December 31, 2022, which excludes certain income and expenses, was $57.6 million, or $2.52 per diluted common share, an increase of $3.7 million and decrease of $0.09, respectively, from prior year ended December 31, 2021. The results for the year ended December 31, 2021, included a $9.2 million pre-tax gain on the sale of substantially all of the Small Business Administration (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. The sale increased diluted earnings per common share by $0.35 for the year. For the quarter ended December 31, 2022, Business First reported net income available to common shareholders of $16.6 million, or $0.67 per diluted common share, increases of $2.8 million and $0.06, respectively, from the quarter ended September 30, 2022. On a non-GAAP basis, core net income for the quarter ended December 31, 2022, which excludes certain income and expenses, was $16.4 million, unchanged from the linked quarter. On a per share basis, core net income was $0.66 per diluted common share for the current quarter, a decrease of $0.06 from the quarter ended September 30, 2022. The per share decrease was largely impacted by the issuance of 2,500,000 shares of common stock in an underwritten public offering at a public offering price of $20.00 per share during October 2022. Additionally, the Company paid a $1.4 million quarterly preferred dividend during the quarter ended December 31, 2022. “2022 was a pivotal year for b1BANK, highlighted by record financial and operational performance,” said Jude Melville, president and CEO. “Long-term investments in personnel, technology and infrastructure are producing concrete returns. Asset quality remains solid. Our balance sheet has been fortified by the raising of over $120 million in preferred and common equity. These things lead us to be optimistic about our franchise’s potential in 2023 and beyond.” On...