Baton Rouge, LA (July 24, 2019) – Business First Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ: BFST) (Business First), parent company of b1BANK, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, today announced its unaudited results for the quarter ended June 30, 2019, including record quarterly net income of $6.8 million, or $0.50 per diluted share, increases of $3.2 million and $0.17, respectively, from the quarter ended June 30, 2018. Core net income, which excludes noncore income and expenses, was $6.6 million, or $0.48 per diluted share, which reflects increases of $2.5 million and $0.11, respectively, from the quarter ended June 30, 2018.
“Our strong second quarter results continue to benefit from the synergies gained through our recent strategic acquisitions and return on internal investments,” said Jude Melville, President and CEO. “The team’s ability to generate robust loan growth with solid credit quality at attractive yields has been instrumental to our success in the first half of 2019.”
On July 23, 2019, Business First’s board of directors declared a quarterly dividend based upon financial performance for the quarter in the amount of $0.10 per share to the common shareholders of record as of August 15, 2019, same as the prior quarter. The dividend will be paid on August 31, 2019, or as soon thereafter as practicable.
