Guaranty takes $1M hit from tax changes

Guaranty Federal Bancshares Inc. (Nasdaq: GFED) posted lower earnings in the fourth quarter and full calendar year after taking a one-time $1 million hit related to federal tax reform.

Officials said the changes required the company to revalue its deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities to account for the lower corporate tax rate passed by the federal government. The operator of Guaranty Bank had an income tax expense of $1 million, according to a news release.

For the full year, Guaranty recorded net income of $5.4 million, a 3 percent decrease from $5.6 million in 2016. Diluted share earnings dropped by 5 cents to $1.22 for the year. Without the one-time tax charge, diluted share earnings would have increased by 15 percent to $1.46 per share compared with 2016, according to the quarterly report.

Financial notes for 2017:
    •    Total interest income improved by 16 percent to $29.4 million.
    •    The company in December announced its first full acquisition with a planned purchase of Carthage-based Hometown Bancshares Inc.
    •    Provision for loan losses rose 27 percent to $1.8 million.

Guaranty recorded assets of $800.4 million and deposits of $606.9 million as of Dec. 31. The company operates 11 full-service Guaranty Bank branches in Greene, Christian and Jasper counties and a loan production office in Webster County, according to the release.

GFED shares closed trading yesterday at $22.44. Its 52-week range is $15.89 to $23.71 per share.