Interest expense. Interest expense totaled $145,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2022, an increase of $2,000 from $143,000 for the same period in the prior year. Interest expense totaled $343,000 for the six months ended March 31, 2022, an increase of $123,000 from $220,000 for the same period in the prior year. The increase in interest expense was primarily due to the financing of the West Virginia Pipeline acquisition.
Other nonoperating (expense) income. Other nonoperating expense totaled $110,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2022, an increase of $77,000 from $33,000 for the same period in the prior year. Other nonoperating expense totaled $263,000 for the six months ended March 31, 2022, an increase of $177,000 from $86,000 for the same period in the prior year. The increases were primarily related to an increase in intangible asset amortization expense.
Gain on sale of equipment. Gain on sale of equipment totaled $20,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2022, a decrease of $459,000 from $479,000 for the same period in the prior year. Gain on sale of equipment totaled $360,000 for the six months ended March 31, 2022, a decrease of $132,000 from $492,000 for the same period in the prior year. The decrease was related to a decrease in equipment sold.
Net (loss) income. Loss before income taxes was ($786,000) for the three months ended March 31, 2022, compared to loss before income taxes of ($1.6 million) for the same period in the prior year. Income before income taxes was $879,000 for the six months ended March 31, 2022, compared to loss before income taxes of ($2.4 million) for the same period in the prior year. The increase in income before income taxes for the three and six months ended March 31, 2022, as compared to the same periods in the prior year, was due to the items mentioned above.
Income tax benefit for the three months ended March 31, 2022, was ($200,000) compared to income tax benefit of ($336,000) for the same period in the prior year. Income tax expense for the six months ended March 31, 2022, was $294,000 compared to income tax benefit of ($405,000) for the same period in the prior year.
The effective income tax rate for the three months ended March 31, 2022, was (25.5) %, as compared to (20.4) % for the same period in the prior year. The effective income tax rate for the six months ended March 31, 2022, was 33.4 %, as compared to (17.1) % for the same period in the prior year. Effective income tax rates are estimates and may vary from period to period due to changes in the amount of taxable income and non-deductible expenses.
Per diem paid to employees on construction projects and entertainment expenses are only partially deductible from taxable income and can have a significant impact on the effective tax rate. For the three months ended March 31, 2022, the non-deductible portion of per diem and entertainment expenses resulted in an approximate $106,000 increase in taxable income as compared to $221,000 for the same period in 2021. For the six months ended March 31, 2022, the non-deductible portion of per diem and entertainment expenses resulted in an approximate $235,000 increase in taxable income as compared to $297,000 for the same period in 2021.
There were no dividends on preferred stock for the three and six months ended March 31, 2022, due to the redemption date on the preferred stock being September 1, 2021. Dividends on preferred stock for the three and six months ended March 31, 2021, were $77,250 and $154,500, respectively.
Net loss available to common shareholders for the three months ended March 31, 2022, was ($586,000), as compared to ($1.4 million) for the same period in the prior year. Net income available to common shareholders for the six months ended March 31, 2022, was $585,000, as compared to a net loss available to common shareholders of ($2.1 million) for the same period in the prior year.
Comparison of Financial Condition at March 31, 2022, and September 30, 2021
The Company had total assets of $66.4 million at March 31, 2022, a decrease of $3.8 million from the prior fiscal year end balance of $70.2 million.
Accounts receivable, which totaled $16.6 million at March 31, 2022, decreased by $4.5 million from the prior fiscal year end balance of $21.1 million. The decrease was primarily due to the timing of cash collections and project invoicing since September 30, 2021.