Walker & Dunlop (NYSE: WD) reported Q1 EPS of $1.49, $0.14 better than the analyst estimate of $1.35. Revenue for the quarter came in at $234.2 million versus the consensus estimate of $193.2 million.

FIRST QUARTER 2020 HIGHLIGHTS

• Record total transaction volume of $11.4 billion, up 91% from Q1'19
• Record total revenues of $234.2 million, up 25% from Q1'19
• Net income of $47.8 million and diluted earnings per share of $1.49, up 8% and 7%, respectively from Q1'19
• Adjusted EBITDA1 of $64.1 million, down 4% from Q1'19
• Servicing portfolio of $94.8 billion at March 31, 2020, up 8% from March 31, 2019
• Cash and cash equivalents of $205.3 million as of March 31, 2020
• Declared dividend of $0.36 per share for the quarter

Willy Walker, Chairman and CEO commented, "The investments we have made over the past several years all came together in the first quarter of 2020 to produce outstanding financial results, including record total transaction volume of $11.4 billion, up 91% over the first quarter of last year, and diluted earnings per share of $1.49, up 7% over last year, even after accounting for a $0.54 per share charge related to our provision for potential future losses."

Mr. Walker continued, "The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed the underlying fundamentals of the U.S. economy, and since the crisis began to take hold in the U.S., we have been actively managing the risks to our business. While property sales activity has slowed significantly and many commercial real estate capital sources have pulled out of the market, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and HUD remain very active, and we continue to benefit from a strong pipeline of transactions. Just last week we closed the largest transaction in Walker & Dunlop's history, a credit facility of over $2 billion on a portfolio of workforce housing properties in the Mid-Atlantic region. Walker & Dunlop is one of the very largest Agency lenders in the country, and our team has not skipped a beat in closing financings and guiding our clients through this challenging period. We feel very good about the credit risk in our portfolio – it is 100% multifamily properties, and almost all loans were low leverage with significant cash flow prior to the crisis. Vision 2020, our plan to build the premier commercial real estate finance company in the United States, is very much still intact, and we will continue to execute on that plan while meeting the needs of our clients over the coming months and quarters."

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