Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. Announces a 38 Percent Increase in Earnings Per Share


SPRINGFIELD, Mo., Jan. 13, 2006 (PRIMEZONE) -- Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. (NASDAQ:GFED), the holding company for Guaranty Bank (the "Company"), today announced the following highlights for its year ended December 31, 2005:

2005 Financial Highlights



  --  Assets increase $40M, or 9% over prior year
  --  Deposits increase $24M, or 8% over prior year
  --  Earnings per share increase 38% over prior year
  --  Loans increase $45M, or 11% over prior year
  --  Net earnings increase $1.6M, or 38% over prior year
  --  Net interest income increases 28% over prior year
  --  Net interest margin increases 41 basis points over prior
      year  to 3.50%

The Company also announced that earnings for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2005 were $0.59 per share (base on net earnings of $1,648,000 during that period), up from $0.41 per share the Company earned during the same quarter in the prior year (based on net earnings of $1,145,000 during that period). This represents a 44% increase in quarterly earnings per share.

Earnings for the twelve months ended December 31, 2005 were $2.12 per share (based on net earnings of $5,899,000 during that period), up from $1.53 per share the Company earned during the same period in the prior year (based on net earnings of $4,285,000 during that period). This represents a 38% increase in earnings per share compared to the same period one year ago.

The Company announced a plan to repurchase 300,000 shares of common stock on November 22, 2002. To date the Company has repurchased 261,457 shares of common stock under this plan at an average cost of $21.63 per share.

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. When used in this release, words such as "anticipates," "estimates," "believes," "expects," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties. 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; fluctuation in inflation; and other factors set forth in reports and other documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time.

Guaranty Federal Bancshares, Inc. has a subsidiary corporation offering full banking services. The principal subsidiary, Guaranty Bank, is located in Springfield, Missouri, and has seven 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 ATMs and over 1,000 ATMs nationwide.



 Financial Highlights:
                           Quarter ended            Year ended
 Operating Data:      31-Dec-05    31-Dec-04    31-Dec-05    31-Dec-04
                      ---------    ---------    ---------    ---------
                               (Dollar amounts are in thousands,
                                      except per share data)
 Total interest
  income                 $7,730        5,634       27,283       20,539
 Total interest                                                
  expense                 3,490        2,337       11,860        8,446
 Provision for                                                 
  loan losses               240          225          945          864
                         ------       ------       ------       ------
  Net interest                                                 
   income after                                                
   provision for                                               
   loan losses            4,000        3,072       14,478       11,229
 Noninterest income         914          932        3,597        3,616
 Noninterest expense      2,267        2,082        8,670        8,248
                         ------       ------       ------       ------
                                                               
 Income before                                                 
  income tax              2,647        1,922        9,405        6,597
 Income tax                                                    
  expense                   999          777        3,506        2,313
                         ------       ------       ------       ------
                                                               
 Net income              $1,648        1,145        5,899        4,284
                         ======       ======       ======       ======
 Net income per                                                
  share-basic            $ 0.59       $ 0.41       $ 2.12       $ 1.53
                         ======       ======       ======       ======
 Net income per                                                
  share-diluted          $ 0.56       $ 0.39       $ 2.03       $ 1.47
                         ======       ======       ======       ======
                                                               
 Annualized return                                             
  on average assets        1.37%        1.04%        1.28%        1.04%
 Annualized return                                             
  on average equity       14.74%       11.11%       14.13%       10.74%
 Net interest margin       3.71%        3.16%        3.50%        3.09%
                                                               
                                                               
                                                               
                                      As of               As of
 Financial Condition Data:          31-Dec-05           31-Dec-04
                                    ---------           ---------

 Cash and cash equivalents           $ 20,506            $ 15,896
 Investments                            7,702              16,407
 Loans, net of allowance for                          
  loan losses                         435,528             392,333
   12/31/2005 - $5,400;                               
  12/31/2004 - $4,537                                 
 Other assets                          17,265              15,961
                                     --------            --------
    Total Assets                     $481,001            $440,597
                                     ========            ========
                                                      
 Deposits                            $320,059            $296,388
 FHLB advances                        100,000             100,000
 Other liabilities                     18,850               3,436
                                     --------            --------
    Total liabilities                $438,909            $399,824
 Stockholder's equity                  42,092              40,773
                                     --------            --------
    Total liabilities and                             
  stockholder equity                 $481,001            $440,597
                                     ========            ========
                                                      
 Book value per share                $  15.17            $  14.45
                                     ========            ========
                                                      
 Non performing assets               $    722            $  1,007
                                     ========            ========


            

Contact Data