State banks' profit
up 36% in quarter
Arkansas' 96 banks earned $399 million in the first quarter, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
That was a 36 percent improvement over $294 million in net income in the same period last year.
The legislation that reduced corporate income taxes was "clearly beneficial" to banks in the first quarter, said Julie Stackhouse, executive vice president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
"Certainly it is helping some banks that were really struggling with profits," Stackhouse said.
The most profitable bank in the quarter was Bank of the Ozarks of Little Rock, with $113.14 million in net income, followed by Centennial Bank of Conway with $78.49 million; Arvest Bank of Fayetteville with $45.64 million; Simmons Bank of Pine Bluff with $44.90 million; and First Security Bank of Searcy with $28.21 million.
-- David Smith
Beyond Meat selling
to hamburger chain
Beyond Meat, a maker of veggie patties that look like beef, just signed its largest food service deal with burger chain A&W Canada.
The Toronto company said Thursday that it plans to sell Beyond Meat's patties, made from pea protein, in nearly 1,000 chain stores in Canada starting July 9. This extends Beyond Meat's restaurant and food service reach to more than 10,000 locations in North America, including TGI Friday's nationwide.
"Our partnership with the iconic A&W brand is a tremendous step forward for Beyond Meat," Ethan Brown, Beyond Meat's founder and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
As demand fuels Beyond Meat's growth, company backers continue to increase their investments. Tyson Foods of Springdale increased its minority stake in Beyond Meat last December after it announced a deal to sell its products in more than 3,200 Kroger-owned grocery stores.
-- Nathan Owens
Arkansas Index ends
day down at 451.70
The Arkansas Index, a price-weighted index that tracks the largest public companies based in the state, dropped 1.65 to 451.70 Thursday.
"Weakness overnight in foreign markets spilled over into the U.S. as equities traded lower through the day with the energy sector underperforming the broader S&P 500 index ahead of today's OPEC meeting," said Leon Lants, managing director at Stephens Inc. in Little Rock.
Total volume for the index was 19.9 million shares.
The index was developed by Bloomberg News and the Democrat-Gazette with a base value of 100 as of Dec. 30, 1997.
Business on 06/22/2018