Irvine-based New Century Financial Corp. offered some good news for the beleaguered subprime mortgage lending industry on Thursday.
New Century, which buys and makes loans to borrowers with imperfect credit, said fourth-quarter profit rose 45% from a year earlier to $114 million. Wall Street was expecting $101 million.
Shares closed 10% higher on Thursday. New Century has a market value of $2.4 billion.
New Century’s net interest income from loans came in at $202.2 million, up 33%.
The company made or bought $15.7 billion in mortgages last quarter, bringing 2005’s total to a record $56 billion.
The news is in contrast to reports of falling profits and layoffs at other mortgage lenders.
But New Century declined to provide earnings or loan production guidance for 2006, citing an uncertain operating environment.
The company did $4 billion in January loans, up by $1 billion from a year earlier. About $600 million came from recently acquired operations.
New Century also has a new chief executive on tap.
Brad Morrice, vice chairman, president and chief operating officer, is set to become chief executive on July 1.
Morrice replaces Robert Cole, who will stay on as executive chairman after July. Both Morrice and Cole are founders.
