WOODBURY, N.Y. The subprime mortgage and home equity lender Delta Financial Corp. on Friday reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $36.5 million, against a profit of $2.8 million in the year-earlier quarter.
For the year, Delta lost $49.4 million, compared with net income of $4.7 million in 1999.
It cited $37.6 million of nonrecurring chargeoffs during the fourth quarter, including a writeoff of its servicing rights and other servicing fees; costs from a securitization; and a write-down of its goodwill relating to its 1997 purchase of Fidelity Mortgage Inc.
Hugh Miller, Deltas president and chief executive, said that despite the chargeoffs, the company had positive operations earnings, of $1.1 million, and that its expenses fell by $2.7 million between the fourth quarters of 1999 and 2000.
He said the company expects additional chargeoffs and net losses for the first two quarters of this year as it continues to implement a corporate restructuring plan, but that he expects a return to profitability in the second half.
