diff --git a/salt/common/tools/sbin/so-common b/salt/common/tools/sbin/so-common
index b3b621a68..9fd4ef7dc 100755
--- a/salt/common/tools/sbin/so-common
+++ b/salt/common/tools/sbin/so-common
@@ -21,6 +21,9 @@ if [ "$(id -u)" -ne 0 ]; then
 	exit 1
 fi
 
+# Define a banner to separate sections
+banner="========================================================================="
+
 add_interface_bond0() {
 	local BNIC=$1
 	if [[ -z $MTU ]]; then
@@ -68,12 +71,8 @@ add_interface_bond0() {
 	fi
 }
 
-# Define a banner to separate sections
-banner="========================================================================="
-
 header() {
-	echo
-		printf '%s\n' "$banner" "$*" "$banner"
+	printf '%s\n' "" "$banner" " $*" "$banner" 
 }
 
 lookup_salt_value() {