Improvements in the title business boosted profits for title and specialty insurance provider Fidelity National Financial (FNF) to $91.9m ($0.40 per share) in Q209, up from $6.9m in Q208. The bulk of the increase came from Fidelity’s National Title Group, which saw pre-tax earnings jump to $133.3m in Q209 from $5.1m in the year-ago quarter. The company’s specialty interest department also grew since last quarter, earning $14.5m in Q209 from $13.2 in Q208. Fidelity closed 524,100 direct title orders in Q209, up from 307,500 in Q208. “We achieved a significant increase in revenue and earnings in the title business as we began to close a meaningful number of the orders we opened in the first quarter and early second quarter, producing a 9.2% pre-tax margin for the full quarter,” Fidelity’s chairman, William Foley II, said in a statement. “Additionally, we exceeded a 10% pre-tax title margin for the month of June.” Fidelity issued 18.2m shares of common stock in April, raising $331m, which was used to reduce outstanding debt. The company now touts a 22% debt-to-capital ratio. Write to Austin Kilgore.
Most Popular Articles
Latest Articles
Test
The story for the housing market over the past three years has been, “Home sales are down, home prices are up.” Because inventory was so restricted after the pandemic, prices pushed higher even as demand weakened. That story may finally be inverting as unsold inventory of homes is now great enough that home prices are […]
-
Freddie Mac’s Donna Spencer on their Servicing Excellence initiative
-
Lower mortgage rates attracting more homebuyers
-
Rocket Pro TPO raises conforming loan limit to $802,650 ahead of FHFA’s decision
-
Show up, don’t show off: Laura O’Connor is redefining success in real estate
-
Between the lines: Understanding the nuances of the NAR settlement