NEW YORK GreenPoint Financial Corp. said Wednesday that it anticipates fourth-quarter earnings to outperform analysts expectations, but that it will take $100 million of pre-tax charges on losses from loan securitizations.
The company said it expects its diluted per-share earnings, scheduled to be announced Jan. 18, to be 23 to 27 cents for the quarter and $2.31 to $2.35 for the year. It also said its operating earnings would be 84 cents to 88 cents a share; the analysts consensus estimates was 76 cents, according to First Call/Thomson Financial. The fourth-quarter consensus estimate a year earlier had been 62 cents.
This estimate includes pre-tax charges of approximately $94 million, or 61 cents per share, related to the valuation of retained interests in manufactured housing loan securitizations, which were affected by a rise in defaults on loans underwritten in 1998 and 1999. GreenPoint will also take a charge of $6 million related to the valuation of retained interests in securitizations of home equity lines of credit.
Thomas S. Johnson, GreenPoints chairman and chief executive officer, said that while the chargeoffs were significant, they should not detract from the underlying earnings power of this company that is demonstrated by the overall results for the quarter and the year.
