Great Southern Bancorp(US:GSBC)2024-11-06 21:49Financial Performance - Net income for Q3 2024 was $16.5 million, a 3.8% increase from $15.9 million in Q3 2023, driven by a $1.8 million decrease in non-interest expense and a $1.2 million increase in net interest income[249]. - For the nine months ended September 30, 2024, net income decreased to $46.9 million, down 14.2% from $54.7 million in the same period in 2023, primarily due to an $8.5 million decrease in net interest income[250]. - Non-interest income for the three months ended September 30, 2024, decreased by $860,000 to $7.0 million compared to the same period in 2023[302]. - The Company's efficiency ratio improved to 61.34% for the three months ended September 30, 2024, compared to 65.13% for the same period in 2023[314]. - The effective tax rate for the three months ended September 30, 2024, was 18.0%, down from 21.5% in the same period in 2023[315]. Interest Income and Expense - Total interest income increased by $8.5 million, or 11.3%, in Q3 2024 compared to Q3 2023, attributed to a $7.5 million increase in interest income on loans[251]. - Interest income on loans rose by $5.9 million in Q3 2024, with the average yield increasing from 5.92% to 6.44%[253]. - Total interest expense increased by $7.3 million, or 25.5%, in Q3 2024, mainly due to a $4.0 million increase in interest expense on short-term borrowings[264]. - Interest expense on deposits rose by $9.7 million in the nine months ended September 30, 2024, with average rates increasing from 1.18% to 1.76%[268]. - The interest rate spread was 3.42% for the current quarter, slightly down from 3.43% in the previous year[318]. Asset and Liability Management - Great Southern's total assets increased by $224.1 million, or 3.9%, from $5.81 billion at December 31, 2023, to $6.04 billion at September 30, 2024[203]. - Total liabilities increased by $183.9 million to $5.42 billion, mainly due to higher short-term borrowings and brokered deposits[242]. - Total deposits decreased by $24.2 million, or 0.5%, to $4.70 billion, with a notable decline in retail certificates of deposit by $154.0 million[243]. - Brokered deposits increased from $661.5 million at December 31, 2023, to $810.4 million at September 30, 2024, indicating a strategic move to supplement funding channels[209]. - Cash and cash equivalents decreased by $3.0 million, or 1.4%, to $208.4 million as of September 30, 2024[237]. Credit Quality and Allowance for Credit Losses - The allowance for credit losses as a percentage of total loans was 1.36% at September 30, 2024, compared to 1.39% at December 31, 2023[290]. - Non-performing assets decreased to $7.7 million at September 30, 2024, from $11.8 million at December 31, 2023, representing 0.13% of total assets[292]. - Non-performing loans decreased by $4.3 million to $7.5 million at September 30, 2024, primarily due to a $4.4 million decrease in non-performing commercial real estate loans[293]. - The company considers the allowance for credit losses adequate based on recent reviews of the loan portfolio and current economic conditions[290]. - Loans classified as "Watch" increased by $890,000, from $8.3 million at December 31, 2023, to $9.2 million at September 30, 2024[301]. Economic Environment - The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds interest rates to over 5.50%, the highest level in 22 years, in response to surging inflation, which peaked at 7.1% in June 2022 and eased to 2.9% by December 2023[174]. - Real GDP is projected to rise by 2.7% in 2024, driven by higher consumer spending and business investment[175]. - The national unemployment rate remained stable at 4.1% in September 2024, with 6.8 million unemployed individuals and 254,000 jobs added in the month[176]. - Existing-home sales decreased by 1.0% in September 2024 to an annual rate of 3.84 million, down 3.5% from the previous year[178]. - The median existing-home sales price rose by 3.0% year-over-year to $404,500, marking the 15th consecutive month of price increases[179]. Stockholder Equity and Dividends - The Company's total stockholders' equity increased to $612.1 million, or 10.1% of total assets, from $571.8 million, or 9.8% of total assets, as of December 31, 2023[331]. - The Company declared a common stock cash dividend of $0.40 per share for the three months ended September 30, 2024, representing 28% of net income per diluted common share[341]. - The Company declared common stock cash dividends totaling $1.20 per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2024, representing 30% of net income per diluted common share[341]. - During the nine months ended September 30, 2024, the Company repurchased 239,933 shares of its common stock at an average price of $51.69 per share[342]. - The Company has approximately 488,000 shares remaining available for repurchase under its stock repurchase authorization as of September 30, 2024[343].