First Marblehead posts narrower 3rd-quarter loss
The First Marblehead Corp., which works with banks and credit unions to administer student loan programs, on Friday said its fiscal third-quarter loss narrowed by 83 percent, as it tightened expenses and booked lower adjustments on loans held in trusts.
For the three months that ended March 31, the company posted a net loss of $29.4 million, or 30 cents per share, compared with a loss of $140.7 million, or $1.42 per share, a year earlier.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters on average expected a loss of 8 cents per share.
Net interest income fell to $656,000 from $5.8 million a year ago.
Total non-interest expenses fell to $28 million, including a $4.2 million loss on student loans held for sale, from $75 million, including a $47.6 million loss on student loans held for sale, in the 2009 period.
Compensation and benefits expenses dipped 2 percent to $8.6 million and general and administrative expenses were 18 percent lower, at $15.2 million.
First Marblehead shares closed down 26 cents, or 6.7 percent, at $3.63, after touching a 52-week high during the session of $4.08.
Copyright 2010  AP News
