BancorpSouth Profits Rise In 3rd Quarter

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) – Regional bank BancorpSouth Corp. cut costs and bad loans in 2013’s third quarter, as profit increased by 4 percent from the same three months of 2012.

BancorpSouth posted quarterly profit of $24.9 million, or 26 cents per share Monday. That’s up from $23.8 million or 25 cents per share in 2012’s third quarter.

Analysts polled by FactSet had estimated 27 cents per share, on average.

The company says it increased loans and net interest income for the second quarter in a row, while it benefited from reduced costs after an employee buyout. However, noninterest revenue fell as mortgage refinancing fees declined sharply.

Based in Tupelo, the $12.9 billion bank has offices in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Tennessee and Texas.