From the Vault: Area banks' third-quarter results

The Kansas City-based holding company for Commerce Bank announced per-share earnings of $2.41 for the nine months ended Sept. 30, up 3 percent from $2.35 per share in the same period last year. However, net income for the year is at $162.8 million, down from $167 million last year.

Third-quarter earnings per share were 81 cents, down 9 percent from 89 cents in third-quarter 2005. Net income for the quarter was $54.5 million, compared to $62.8 million last year.

The quarter was highlighted by Commerce’s completion of two acquisitions. The holding company July 21 completed its $16.25 million purchase of Columbia-based Boone National Savings and Loan Association. On Sept. 2, the company’s acquisition of Belleville, Ill.-based West Pointe Bancorp Inc. closed in a transaction valued at $80.9 million in stock and cash.

Assets as of Sept. 30 were $15.2 billion, loans were $9.8 billion and deposits were $11.6 billion.

Shares of Commerce Bancshares (Nasdaq: CBSH) closed Oct. 18 at $48.58, compared to a 52-week range of $48.24 to $53.63.

Guaranty Bank

Guaranty Federal Bancshares Inc., the holding company for Springfield-based Guaranty Bank, on Oct. 13 announced year-to-date earnings are up 12.2 percent as of Sept. 30.

Net income for the quarter was $1.62 million, up 2.3 percent from $1.59 million in third-quarter 2005. Diluted earnings per share for the quarter were 56 cents, compared to 55 cents the same period last year.

For the nine months ended Sept. 30, net income was up 12.2 percent to $4.77 million from $4.25 million in the same period last year.

Earnings per share for the year-to-date were up 10.8 percent to $1.64, from $1.48 last year.

Assets increased to $518 million during the quarter, up 8 percent from the end of 2005, and total loans increased 7 percent to $465 million compared to the end of last year.

Stockholders’ equity as of Sept. 30 was $44.5 million, or 8.6 percent of total assets. That’s equivalent to a book value per share of $16.01, compared to $15.17 at the end of 2005.

Guaranty Bank has eight locations in Greene and Christian counties.

Shares of the holding company’s stock (Nasdaq: GFED) closed Oct. 18 at $28.47 compared to a 52-week range of $26.45-$30.59.

Great Southern Bank

Springfield-based Great Southern Bancorp, the holding company for Great Southern Bank, Oct. 19 reported third-quarter earnings up 11 percent from the same period last year.

Earnings were $7.95 million, or 58 cents per share, compared to 51 cents in third-quarter 2005, excluding effects of the company’s accounting for interest rate swaps. Including the effects of the change, earnings were 58 cents per share, or $8.03 million.

Net income for the nine months ended Sept. 30 were $22.8 million, or $1.65 per share, including effects of the change. That’s compared to $1.26 per share, or $17.5 million, last year. Excluding effects of the change, net income was $1.66 per share for the year-to-date, up from $1.48 per share last year.

Net interest income for the quarter was $17.9 million including the effects of the change, up from $15.1 million in third-quarter 2005. Net interest income was $18.3 million excluding the effects of the change, up from $16 million last year.

Great Southern officials expect the changes from the accounting swap to flow back into income in future quarters.

Company shares (Nasdaq: GSBC) closed Oct. 18 at $30.66. The 52-week range is $25.05 to $32.61.

Regions Bank

Birmingham, Ala.-based Regions Financial Corp.’s per-share earnings rose 26 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period in 2005, the company reported Oct. 13.

Earnings for the quarter ended Sept. 30 were 77 cents per diluted share, compared to 75 cents in the second quarter and 55 cents in third-quarter 2005.

Net income for the quarter was $352 million, up from $256.6 million in third-quarter 2005. For the first nine months of the year, net income was $991.6 million, a 33 percent increase from $746.5 million last year.

Average loans grew 4 percent during the quarter, driven mostly by commercial and construction lending. Net interest income also was up, reaching $806 million for the third quarter, compared to $791 million in the previous quarter.

Regions’ shareholders in the third quarter approved the company’s merger with Birmingham-based AmSouth. That transaction, pending regulatory approval, is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter.

Shares of Regions (NYSE: RF) closed Oct. 18 at $38.35. The 52-week range is $30.62-$39.15.

U.S. Bank

U.S. Bancorp, the holding company for U.S. Bank, on Oct. 17 reported higher third-quarter earnings despite a continued decline in net interest income.

Net income for the quarter was $1.2 billion, compared to $1.15 billion in third-quarter 2005. Per-share earnings were 66 cents, up 6.5 percent from the same quarter last year.

Fee income accounted for more than half of net revenue for the quarter. That helped offset net interest income, which was down for the fourth consecutive quarter to $1.67 billion, compared to $1.79 billion in third-quarter 2005.

U.S. Bancorp Chairman and CEO Jerry A. Grundhofer attributed the decrease in net interest income to competitive pricing and growth in lower-spread, fixed-rate assets; he expects it to stabilize in the fourth quarter if the Fed leaves interest rates unchanged.

In August, the company’s board authorized a 150 million-share repurchase plan, allowing U.S. Bancorp to buy back about 30 million shares in the third quarter.

Shares of the Minneapolis-based company (NYSE: USB) closed Oct. 18 at $33.25, compared to a 52-week range of $27.65-$33.93.[[In-content Ad]]