Bank of the Ozarks sees 4Q EPS down 12 percent.

Bank of the Ozarks Inc. posted fourth-quarter net income of $7.3 million, a 12.3 percent decrease from net income of $8.4 million for the same quarter last year.

Earnings per share for the quarter fell 12 percent to 44 cents, compared with 50 cents for the same period in 2005.

For the full year, the bank company reported net income of $31.7 million, a 0.6 percent increase from 2005, and earnings per share of $1.89, up 0.5 percent from last year.

"Throughout 2006 we pursued three major initiatives intended to position us for continued long-term growth. These initiatives included a record number of new banking offices, significant development of corporate infrastructure and staff and aggressive deposit growth," said George Gleason, chairman and CEO.

"While these initiatives resulted in increased overhead and interest expense in 2006, we believe they also provide an excellent foundation for the future. In fact, much of what we did in 2006 was aimed at achieving long-term goals.

"With our 2006 initiatives accomplished, our priorities for 2007 will include goals to accelerate our rate of revenue growth and decelerate our rate of overhead growth."

Also, Bank of the Ozarks approved a quarterly cash dividend of 10 cents a share, payable Feb. 2 to shareholders of record as of Jan. 26.