Great Southern earnings fall 13 cents per share

Net income for the quarter was $6.3 million, down from $8.2 million in second-quarter 2007.

Net interest income was $18.13 million, down from $35.97 million a year ago, while noninterest income was $9.86 million, compared to $20 million last year. Noninterest expenses, meanwhile, totaled $13.56 million, down from $27.67 million last year.

Net loans for the quarter fell by 1 percent, or $19 million, from the end of 2007, as a result of fewer construction and land development loans, which were down by $45 million since Dec. 31.

“Asset quality and the resolution of credit issues remain our priority,” Great Southern President and CEO Joseph W. Turner said in a news release. “We made a conscious effort during the second quarter to limit the company’s loan growth.”

Results follow a first quarter that included a $35 million write-off in loans made to the failed Arkansas bank ANB Financial, which led to a $15.15 million net loss for Great Southern for that period.

Total deposits for the second quarter increased $28 million, or 2.7 percent, since the end of last year. Return on average assets was 1 percent.

Great Southern shares (Nasdaq: GSBC) closed Thursday at $9.78, compared to a 52-week range of $7.73 to $28.[[In-content Ad]]