Great Southern posts flat 3Q earnings

Earnings per share were up 1 cent, or 2 percent, from the second quarter and were equal to the company’s earnings in the same quarter last year, when the bank posted a historic high for quarterly EPS.

Preliminary earnings for the year were $1.48 per share, or $20.6 million, up from $1.44 this time last year, funded by strong loan growth up $46 million this quarter and $156 million year to date.

Net income was up 2 percent over third-quarter 2004, and noninterest income rose 18 percent to $6.9 million.

Springfield-based Great Southern operates 34 branches in southwest and central Missouri and has assets of $2 billion. Shares of the company (Nasdaq: GSBC) closed Oct. 17 at $27.56 per share. The 52-week low was $26.32 and the high was $43.25.