Real estate investment trust Two Harbors Investment Corp. (TWO) recorded a core earnings for the fourth quarter of $76.4 million, or 21 cents per share, compared to $67.7 million, or 19 cents per share, the previous quarter.
“Two Harbors delivered strong return on book value of 10.4% in 2013 despite a challenging backdrop, which is a testament to our portfolio management and risk mitigation strategies,” said Thomas Siering, Two Harbors’ president and CEO.
“Importantly, we also reported significant achievements related to our new investment initiatives this year, which we believe will create franchise value and drive attractive long-term returns for our stockholders,” Siering added.
The company posted a net realized gain on residential mortgage-backed securities and mortgage loans held-for-sale of $98.6 million, in addition to reporting unrealized losses on trading securities, mortgage loan forward purchase commitments and mortgage loans held-for-sale of $6.2 million.
Back in December, the company completed a bulk acquisition of mortgage-servicing rights from Flagstar Bank (FBC), and initiated a flow sale arrangement with PHH Mortgage Corporation to acquire MSR on newly originated residential mortgage loans.
