New York Mortgage Trust (NASDAQ: NYMT) reported Q4 EPS of $0.11, $0.04 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.15. Revenue for the quarter came in at $21.87 million versus the consensus estimate of $21.76 million.

• Earned net income attributable to common stockholders of $3.7 million, or $0.02 per share (basic), and comprehensive income to common stockholders of $16.9 million, or $0.11 per share.
• Earned net interest income of $21.9 million and portfolio net interest margin of 230 basis points.
• Recognized book value per common share of $5.65 at December 31, 2018, a decrease of 1% from September 30, 2018, resulting in an economic return of 2.3% for the quarter ended December 31, 2018.
• Declared fourth quarter dividend of $0.20 per common share that was paid on January 25, 2019.
• Issued 14,375,000 shares of common stock through an underwritten public offering resulting in total net proceeds of approximately $85.3 million after deducting underwriting discounts, commissions and offering expenses.
• Acquired credit assets totaling $944.2 million, including distressed residential mortgage loans totaling $482.6 million, other residential mortgage loans totaling $87.5 million, non-Agency RMBS totaling $119.5 million, multi-family CMBS totaling $208.5 million and preferred equity investments in owners of multi-family properties totaling $46.2 million.
• Closed on a master repurchase agreement with a maximum aggregate principal amount of $750.0 million to fund the purchase of residential mortgage loans.

Steven Mumma, NYMT's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, commented: “The Company had GAAP earnings per share of $0.02 and comprehensive earnings per share of $0.11 for the fourth quarter and, importantly, held book value per common share steady at $5.65, down just 1% from the prior quarter. For the year, the Company generated GAAP earnings per share of $0.62 and $78.7 million in net interest margin, an increase of 36% from the prior year. The Company’s ability to maintain a stable book value in the face of difficult market conditions for much of the year, particularly in the latter half of the fourth quarter, helped the Company deliver an economic return of 2.3% for the quarter and 7.5% for the year - solid results despite the challenging operating environment. Fourth quarter results were largely impacted by year end spread widening, much of which has reversed in January. The Company opportunistically accessed the capital markets during the fourth quarter, completing an accretive raise of approximately $85 million of common equity, bringing total capital raised during the year to approximately $260.3 million, all of which was accretive to book value.

2018 was a transformational year for the Company. We moved to internalize our last externally-managed business, residential distressed credit, adding a team of professionals that not only covers distressed residential assets but increases our capabilities across many other residential credit opportunities. In January 2019, the Company hired Jason Serrano as our President. Jason has extensive experience in all aspects of residential investing and his leadership, ability and vision are welcome additions to our firm. For the year the Company expanded its investment portfolio by 33% and its capital base by 21%, originating or acquiring over $1.3 billion in predominately credit assets, including $360 million in multifamily credit and $885 million in residential credit, a new single-year record for the Company.

We are excited about the year ahead, having added approximately $900 million of new investments in the fourth quarter, most of which were funded in December and will start to contribute to earnings in a meaningful way in the first quarter. We raised approximately $84 million of common equity in the first quarter of 2019, bringing the Company’s common equity market capitalization to over $1 billion. We believe the Company is well-positioned to capitalize on its recent success and expand its credit focused investment portfolio, which we believe will continue to deliver long-term stable dividends while preserving book value for our shareholders."

For earnings history and earnings-related data on New York Mortgage Trust (NYMT) click here.