Due largely to a significant acquisition-related boost in the second quarter of 2012, Great Southern Bancorp Inc.'s net income for the three months that ended June 30 declined 62 percent to $8.2 million from $21.7 million.
In the same quarter
last year, the Springfield-based holding company for Great Southern Bank (Nasdaq: GSBC) realized a one-time gain of $31.3 million after purchasing the assets and assuming the deposits and liabilities of Maple Grove, Minn.-based Inter Savings Bank. During the
first quarter of 2013, earnings totaled $8.4 million.
"Overall, our second-quarter performance was sound. Earnings were 59 cents per diluted share, overall asset quality continued to improve and total loans, excluding covered loans and mortgages held for sale, have now increased $87.4 million in the first half of 2013, an annualized rate of more than 9 percent," Great Southern President and CEO Joe Turner said in a news release.
On July 12, Great Southern announced it plans to consolidate the operations of 11 Missouri branches into other nearby locations. The closure of the 11 facilities, expected to occur in the fourth quarter, would result in an annual pretax income statement impact of approximately $1.2 million to $1.5 million. The company also expects one-time expenses of $300,000 to $600,000 during the third and fourth quarters related to severance costs for affected employees and furniture and equipment expenses. The company would place the affected properties up for sale. All 11 branches to be consolidated - in east and central Missouri - were acquired
in 2011 as part of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.-assisted acquisition of Ellington-based Sun Security Bank, the release said.
Great Southern also is building a branch in Omaha, Neb., to open in the fourth quarter, and a new branch in Maple Grove, Minn., expected to open late this year that would replace a leased location. Another facility under renovation in Ava would replace a bank-owned branch and open in the early fourth quarter.
As of June 30, Great Southern's assets totaled $3.8 billion, its deposits were $3 billion and liabilities equaled $3.5 billion. The company operates 107 branches in Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota and Nebraska, according to the release.
GSBC shares were trading at $30.09 as of 10:09 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $22.60 to $31.81.[[In-content Ad]]
