John Allison
Analyst · Raymond James
Thank you, Amy. Welcome to Home BancShares’ second quarter 2012 conference call and earnings release. The management team, as Amy said, is here with me today, and I just have a few comments. I am not going to go into numbers really. I’m going to let Randy Sims to get into numbers, but we’ve developed the reputation over the years of kind of telling like it is. If it's bad if we tell it; if it’s good if we tell it and we take action to deal with it.
You’ve heard me make this statement to some other people, it is what it is. And what it is today is the best quarter in our company’s history. And I am just going to hit these high points, as I said, and Randy will cover the numbers. But we had record quarterly earnings, record interest income, record operating earnings, record core pre-tax pre-provision with a 2.67, and I am proud to say we talked last year about a run rate of about $80 million, and I thought we could get there if we’d get another deal. We did over $25 million in the second quarter for a run rate of $100 million, and very proud of that. That's a significant increase.
Revenue for the quarter was $56.1 million versus $52.7 million last year and on a linked quarter basis, up $3 million from $53.1 million, pretty significant. In addition of that record efficiency ratio, we maintain strong margins flat with the first quarter and a ROE on tangible common equity, and you know I call that train-riding money, was north of 16%. An improved loan pipeline, careful and cautious about the loan side of it. We’re beginning to see a little more activity out there which you’ve heard me make the comment you cannot push a rope [ph] loan. Loan growth will come when loan growth comes, and you can’t make it happen. If you try to make it happen, somebody is going to get in trouble.
We had good improvement on the expense side, as I said on the efficiency ratio and we will continue to do better, as Donna Townsel [ph] is now leading the B4 program for the company. And that will be implemented shortly. Improved asset quality, the best in years. Strong reserves, 2.45 to 3.21, depend on how you count them; and a 10.3% tangible common equity, we had increase in non-interest deposits and as Randy Sims pushes a reduction in expensive time deposits.
This isn’t a complicated business, it has to do with revenue and expenses. You either raise the revenue or lower the expenses to increase profitability or both, while maintaining stable asset quality. We were able to increase revenue significantly, while freezing expenses only up $38,000 which results in record profits. With a $25 million run rate, that equates without loan loss reserves, things stayed as they are somewhere in the 216 range. And to hit our new goal of 250, that will take improved efficiencies --excuse me, an improved efficiency ratio and a deal or two this year, and I'm optimistic that the deals will come.
It will take $27.5 million run rate a quarter that equates about $110 million a year. So to say 250 is out there, I can see it. We just need a couple deals to get there as we did to get to $80 million as we have gotten $80 million and on to $100 million.
I hope you are as pleased with this powerful quarter as I am. If you do the right thing, you work hard, you do smart deals, continue to raise the bar and listen to our investors, things have a way of rewarding all of us.
Speaking of rewarding our shareholders, our dividend has fallen below 1.5% and it is my plan at the board meeting Friday to recommend an increase in dividend. And I think 1.5% is a reasonable level. I don’t know if that will get approved, but I will recommend it.
We will continue to be in the market buying stock. We think that is important. That’s another use of our capital, but we will continue to keep penny -- excuse me, plenty of dry powder for deals in the future. I guess I've rambled enough about this, and now let me turn it over to Randy Sims so he can give you the specific numbers. Go ahead Randy.