LOCAL

First Financial Bankshares sees earnings growth

Staff report

Earnings at First Financial Bankshares grew 3.5 percent in the first quarter, or a penny a share.

The financial holding company, based in Abilene, on Thursday reported its assets grew to $6.93 billion, up from $6.81 billion at the end of 2016 and $6.53 billion a year ago.

"We continue to work diligently to grow loans and deposits, reduce expenses to improve our bottom line while continuing to look for acquisition opportunities to better utilize our strong capital position and increase our return to shareholders," said Scott Dueser, chairman, president and CEO.

Deposits rose 3.3 percent to $5.66 billion from the previous quarter.

One area that showed limited growth was loans, rising $10 million dollars to $3.38 billion, or 0.3 percent. Dueser said other similar banks were softer in that area.

But, one large driving factor for First Financial was customers selling their businesses, and paying their loans.

“We knew it was coming,” he said. “People were cashing out (toward the end of the year). It was not just one customer, but a number of customers.”

Dueser said one of the strongest contributors to the company growth this quarter was its trust operation. A good bit of that is driven by activity in the Permian Basin.

The trust portion of the company manages property there and it has benefited from rising petroleum prices.

“We manage a lot of property out there,” he said. “Lease prices are at a premium, more than any other time in history. Petroleum companies there know there are no dry holes and there are cheap lifting prices.”

First Financial earns a fee for the management of such properties.

“I believe that our trust company really could be bigger than the bank (at some point),” he said. “There are not many people in that business. Trust returns are very good. We have a huge ‘will file’ (wills that designate First Financial to help manage an estate).”

First Financial is holding its annual shareholders meeting at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at the Abilene Convention Center.

Earnings were announced after the close of trading Thursday. Shares of First Financial (Nasdaq: FFIN) closed at $38.90, up $1.15.