American Mortgage Acceptance Cuts 2006 Earnings Guidance By 65 Percent

American Mortgage Acceptance Company (AMEX:AMC), a real estate investment trust that specializes in multifamily and commercial real estate finance, said late Friday that it had revised its adjusted funds from operations per share guidance for 2006 to a range of $1.08 to $1.13.

The company had previously issued AFFO per share guidance in a range of $3.00 to $3.20, and will report 2006 earnings on March 20.

The earnings miss represents the latest REIT outside of the subprime credit sector to post poorer-than-expected performance in the fourth quarter. Florida-based REIT Opteum Inc. reported last week that it lost $33.9 million during the fourth quarter of 2006, driven in part by losses in the company’s investment portfolio.

“The reduction in AMAC’s expected 2006 AFFO per share is primarily due to write downs of $12.0 million in principal and the reversal of $908,000 in accrued interest relating to three non-performing mezzanine loans in the Company’s investment portfolio,� said J. Larry Duggins, AMAC chief executive officer.

Duggins was quick to distance the troubled loans from the rest of the company’s portfolio.

“While we continue to pursue our rights and make efforts to collect on these loans, we determined that these write downs were necessary,” he said.

“These mezzanine loans, which were originated in 2005 in connection with two separate condominium conversion transactions in the Tampa, Florida area and a land development transaction in Somerset County, New Jersey, have a different risk profile associated with them as compared to the loans we are currently originating.”

For more information, visit http://www.americanmortgageco.com.