Great Southern earnings rise 45%

Great Southern Bancorp, the holding company for Great Southern Bank, reported July 15 preliminary earnings for the quarter ended June 30. Earnings per share rose 45 percent for the quarter to 94 cents, compared with 65 cents for the same quarter a year ago.

For the six months ended June 20, preliminary earnings were $1.72 per share, up 29 percent from the $1.33 the company earned during the same quarter last year.

For the three months ended June 20, annualized return on average equity was 28.27 percent, annualized return on average assets was 1.96 percent and net interest margin was 3.9 percent.

For the six months ended June 30, annualized return on average equity was 26.42 percent; annualized return on average assets was 1.81 percent and net interest margin was 3.79 percent.

One significant non-recurring item occurred during the quarter. Noninterest income was positively affected by a gain of $2.2 million (net of related expenses) on the sale of available-for-sale equity securities.