Quarterly loan originations at Impac Mortgage Holdings Inc. moved lower, though annual activity improved. The company swung from an annual profit to a loss.
During the three months ended Dec. 31, the Irvine, Calif.-based firm closed $0.519 billion in residential loans, according to fourth-quarter earnings data released Wednesday.
Business slipped from the third quarter, when $0.576 billion in mortgage production was generated.
Production was also worse than a year earlier, when Impac originated $0.813 billion.
Full-year mortgage production totaled $2.549 billion, slightly more than the $2.420 billion originated in 2012.
“With the increase in rates, our lending volumes in the latter part of 2013 were lower than what we anticipated,” the report stated. “The higher interest rates and the competition for a lower level of originations caused profit margins to decrease significantly.”
Refinance share dropped to 59 percent last year from 69 percent in 2012.
Impac’s 600 approved mortgage brokers as of Dec. 31 originated 38 percent of last year’s business, while its 150 approved correspondent clients generated 34 percent.
The rest of its production, 34 percent, was originated by its retail channel.
As a result of the previously announced sale of 33 retail branches, brokers and correspondents are expected to account for a bigger share of this year’s business.
The mortgage servicing portfolio was $3.129 billion as of Dec. 31, growing from $2.689 billion as of Sept. 30 and $1.492 billion as of Dec. 31, 2012.
Pre-tax income from continuing operations was a $6 million loss, swinging from a $13 million profit in 2012.
Warehouse borrowing capacity finished last year at $265 million. It has since increased to $290 million.
Subsidiary Excel changed its name to Impac Mortgage Corp. this month.
The company noted that it completed the $10.2 million cash sale of AmeriHome Mortgage Corp., also this month.
Average headcount was 456 in 2013, up from 343 the previous year. (after the publication of this story, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission indicated that staffing fell from 514 as of Sept. 30 to 312 as of Dec. 31)
