SPRINGFIELD, Mo., Sept. 17, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. (Nasdaq:GFED), the holding company for Guaranty Bank, today announced an increase of the quarterly dividend of $0.005 per share, or 3.2% to $0.16 per share on 2,811,186 shares of its common stock to be paid on October 15, 2004, to stockholders of record on October 1, 2004.
This dividend is the nineteenth consecutive paid since Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. was formed in December 1997. During this period the company paid nine consecutive semi-annual dividends followed by ten consecutive quarterly dividends. In addition, this is the seventh consecutive year in which the annual dividend paid has increased. During this period the annual dividend paid has increased from $0.31 per share paid in 1998, to $0.625 to be paid in 2004.
The discussion set forth above may contain forward-looking comments. Such comments are based upon the information currently available to management of the Company and management's perception thereof as of the date of this release. Actual results of the Company's operations could materially differ from those forward-looking comments. The differences could be caused by a number of factors or combination of factors including, but not limited to: changes in demand for banking services; changes in portfolio composition; changes in management strategy; increased competition from both bank and non-bank companies; changes in the general level of interest rates; the effect of regulatory or government legislative changes; technology changes; and fluctuation in inflation.
Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. has a subsidiary corporation offering full banking services. The principal subsidiary, Guaranty Bank, is located in Springfield, Missouri, and has nine branches and 19 ATM locations located in Greene and Christian Counties. In addition Guaranty Bank is a member of the Privileged Status ATM network, which provides its customers surcharge free access to over 60 area ATM's and over 1,000 ATM's nationwide.