Walker & Dunlop‘s fourth-quarter income shot up 69% to $11 million, or 50 cents a share, from $6.5 million, or 41 cents a share, a year earlier, as its loan originations expanded.
In its first full-year as a public company, the Bethesda, Md.-based multifamily lender earned $34.9 million, or $1.60 a share, a 42% increase from 2010 when it earned $24.6 million, or $1.64 a share.
Results for 2010 are on a pro forma basis, as the figures are normalized for the company’s $31.6 million deferred tax charge recognized in December 2010 due to the change in tax status following its initial public offering.
Revenue in 2011 increased 25% to $152.4 million from $121.8 the previous year driven by a growth in loan origination volume.
“Instead of worrying about the political debate on Capitol Hill, we focused on originating the best loans for our clients and ended up having record years with both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” said Chief Executive Willy Walker. “We originated over half-a-billion dollars in loans for the Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2011 and believe our HUD business is poised for significant growth under new leadership.”
Loan originations grew 22% in the fourth quarter to $1.3 billion from $1.1 billion a year earlier. The former is the company’s second highest quarterly loan production in its history. For the full year, originations rose 27% to $4 billion from $3.2 billion in 2010.
In addition, the servicing portfolio grew 15% over 2010 levels as related fees increased 24%.
The company reported $102.7 million of gains from mortgage banking activities in 2011, compared to $85.2 million in 2010. Gains from mortgage banking activities are comprised of loan origination fees and gains attributable to mortgage servicing rights.
Loan origination fees totaled $48.4 million for the full year, up 15% from $42.2 million in 2010. Gains from mortgage servicing rights rose to $54.3 million for the year, compared to $43.1 million for the previous year, a 26% increase.
