Hancock 3Q profit falls 5 pct; it plans share sale

Hancock 3Q profit falls 5 percent as bank holding co. plans public offering of $150M in shares

• On 4:05 pm EDT, Monday October 19, 2009

GULFPORT, Miss. (AP) -- Hancock Holding Co. said Monday its third-quarter profit fell 5 percent as the bank's loan loss provision rose 67 percent.

The company also said it plans a public offering of $150 million of common shares.

Gulfport, Miss.-based Hancock is the parent company of Hancock Bank (Mississippi), Hancock Bank of Louisiana, Hancock Bank of Florida and Hancock Bank of Alabama.

Hancock earned $15.2 million, or 47 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Sept. 30. That compares to $16 million, or 50 cents per share, a year earlier.

Its quarterly per-share profit beat a consensus estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Reuters by a penny. They had predicted 46 cents per share.

The loan loss provision rose to $13.5 million from $8.1 million a year earlier.

The company also said on Monday that it would sell more common shares in a public offering. The underwriters have the option to buy an additional 15 percent of shares sold in the offering. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. and Morgan Stanley are joint book-running managers. Sterne Agee & Leach, Stifel Nicolaus & Co. and FIG Partners are co-managers.

Hancock shares rose 17 cents to $36.70 in late afternoon trading.