Springfield-based Guaranty Federal Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq: GFED) reported $834,000 in first-quarter net income, a 59.5 percent increase compared to earnings of $523,000 in the same quarter of 2011.
For the quarter ended March 31, the company's earnings per diluted share were 20 cents, up 11 cents from first-quarter 2011, according to a news release.
Officials with the holding company for Guaranty Bank cited five key items for its first-quarter financial performance results: net interest income, provision for loan losses, noninterest income, noninterest expense and nonperforming assets.
First-quarter financial highlights:
- Net interest income rose 3.6 percent to $5 million. Company officials said a significant reduction in the average cost of interest bearing deposits during the past year contributed to the result, as well as a reduction in wholesale funding balances of roughly $40 million during the last half of 2011.
- Provision for loan losses during the quarter, $900,000, was unchanged from the same quarter of last year. As of March 31, the allowance for loan losses was 2.3 percent of gross loans outstanding, compared to 2.2 percent at the end of 2011.
- Noninterest income increased 12 percent to $847,000, while noninterest expense decreased 2.5 percent to $4.05 million.
- Nonperforming assets increased by $3.9 million in the quarter compared to Dec. 31, 2011, primarily due to a long-term credit relationship determined to have further deterioration because it was originally classified as nonaccrual.
As of March 31, Guaranty Bank's total assets were $649.03 million and its deposits were $484.22 million. The company operates nine branches in Greene and Christian counties and loan production offices in Taney, Wright, Webster and Howell counties, according to the release.
The company's shares were trading at $8.27 as of 11:53 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $3.84 to $9.50.[[In-content Ad]]
