Mortgage servicer Ocwen Financial Corp. (OCN) posted a first-quarter profit of $22.1 million, or 21 cents per share, missing analysts’ estimates of 25 cents a share. Ocwen’s earnings rose slightly from the year earlier when it earned $20.9 million, or 20 cents a share. For the three months ended March 31, Ocwen completed 24,502 loan modifications — 14% of which were handled through the Home Affordable Modification Program. Ocwen said the number of loan modifications completed in the first quarter exceeded its expectations of 19,000 to 22,000. The servicer said the percentage of non-performing loans under its umbrella, excluding special servicing of loans backed by government-sponsored enterprises, fell to 24.7% from 27.3% a year earlier. The firm’s first-quarter revenue increased 47% to $111 million from $75 million, while the unpaid principal balance of loans serviced by Ocwen increased from to $70.5 billion from $49.7 billion a year ago. In February, Ocwen announced plans to sell mortgage servicing rights to a newly formed corporation called Home Loan Servicing Solutions. The move is expected to free up capital, allowing Ocwen to continue in the role of subservicer, according to Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Write to Kerri Panchuk.

More: