Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. reported preliminary earnings results for the second quarter ended December 31, 2016. The company announced preliminary net income available to common stockholders for the second quarter of fiscal 2017 of $4.2 million, consistent with the same period of the prior fiscal year. The Company’s results were attributable to increased net interest income, a reduction in provision for income taxes, and the elimination of preferred dividends as a result of the October 2015 preferred share repurchase, partially offset by higher noninterest expenses, higher provision for loan losses, and lower noninterest income. Preliminary net income available to common stockholders was $0.56 per fully diluted common share for the second quarter of fiscal 2017, unchanged as compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. Earnings per common share (diluted) were $0.56, unchanged as compared to the same quarter a year ago, and up $0.06, or 12.0%, as compared to the $0.50 earned in the first quarter of fiscal 2017, the linked quarter. Annualized return on average assets was 1.13%, while annualized return on average common equity was 12.9%, as compared to 1.27% and 14.0%, respectively, in the same quarter a year ago, and 1.03% and 11.6%, respectively, in the first quarter of fiscal 2017, the linked quarter. The company’s net interest income for the three-month period ended December 31, 2016, was $12.6 million, an increase of $671,000, or 5.6%, as compared to the same period of the prior fiscal year. The increase was attributable to a 10.7% increase in the average balance of interest-earning assets, partially offset by a decrease in net interest margin to 3.70% in the current three-month period, as compared to 3.88% in the three-month period ended December 31, 2015.