Business
Business First Bancshares, Inc., Announces Financial Results for Q1 2020
BATON ROUGE, La., April 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: BFST) (Business First), parent company of b1BANK, Baton Rouge,
About this update from Business First Bancshares, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"BATON ROUGE, La., April 28, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: BFST) (Business First), parent company of b1BANK, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, today announced its unaudited results for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, including net income of $4.5 million, or $0.34 per diluted share, decreases of $1.2 million and $0.07, respectively, from the quarter ended March 31, 2019. On a non-GAAP basis, core net income for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, which excludes noncore income and expenses, was $5.0 million, or $0.37 per diluted share, decreases of $655,000 and $0.04, respectively, from the quarter ended March 31, 2019. Both net income and diluted earnings per share were adversely impacted for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, by additional provision for loan losses related to the expected impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.\n In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Business First proactively assisted, and continues to assist, customers by deferring principal and/or interest payments on approximately 1,000 loans with an outstanding balance of $468 million as of April 19, 2020. Additionally, through April 19, 2020, Business First approved $250 million of Small Business Administration (SBA) Payroll Protection Program (PPP) loans for approximately 1050 applicants. “2020 opened with a sense of optimism. Our organization achieved solid growth in quality assets, continued to aggregate talented employees and announced a transformative acquisition,” said Jude Melville, president and CEO. “Clearly the end of the first quarter of this new year has been unexpected. While the foreseeable future is challenging, we also know the positives with which we started the year—strong relationships with clients, talented employees, a deeper, more liquid balance sheet-- will ultimately enable us to contribute to our region’s recovery.” On April 23, 2020, Business First’s board of directors declared a quarterly dividend based upon financial performance for the first quarter in the amount of $0.10 per share, same as the prior quarter, to the common shareholders of record as of May 15, 2020. The dividend will be paid on May 31, 2020, or as soon thereafter as practicable. Quarterly Highlights Stable Credit Quality. Ratios of nonperforming loans compared to loans held for investment and nonperforming assets compared to total assets increas...