Hanover Capital Mortgage Holdings, Inc., a mortgage REIT, said late Wednesday that it lost $37.7 million — that’s a loss of $4.37/share — during the fourth quarter of 2007. The loss represents a significant widening from a $.3.2 million loss reported in the year ago period, and pushed the New Hersey-based REIT to an $80 million loss for the full year. It also delivered negative book value, with Hanover pegging its per share value at a negative $2.96/share by the end of 2007. That’s not a very good sign, to understate things. The company said that huge impairments to its subordinate MBS portfolio during 2007 largely were to blame, and that it absorbed impairment charges of $73.6 million on those bonds that it deemed likely to bleed principal (or those that have already done so). The losses are eye-opening — but they also put the company in the position of needing capital in order to continue. From the press statement:

Additional sources of capital are required for the Company to generate positive cashflow and continue operations beyond 2008. These events have raised substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern …

“The financial condition of the company continues to be impacted by the general market conditions in the mortgage and securities markets,” said CEO John Burchett, “which have resulted in dramatic decreases in market values for mortgage related securities as well as reduced liquidity in the overall credit markets.”