Ocwen 1Q Profit Boosted by Deals

The mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial (OCN) more than doubled its profit in the first quarter following a string of acquisitions that has substantially boosted its market share.

The Atlanta company said Thursday that its first-quarter earnings climbed 119% from a year earlier, to $42.6 million, or 31 cents per share.

Income from servicing rose 138% year over year, to $369 million, primarily due to Ocwen's purchase in February of ResCap, a former unit of Ally Financial.

Ocwen's servicing portfolio grew 377% from the first quarter of 2012, to $469 billion. In December, Ocwen bought Homeward, another mortgage servicer, for roughly $766 million. On April 1, Ocwen bought the balance of Ally's servicing portfolio, which included loans serviced by Ocwen during the first quarter.

Expenses increased roughly 183% from a year earlier, to $243.5 million.