Three out of the four large title underwriters reported lower earnings year-over-year for the third quarter, as new business slowed with higher interest rates resulting in fewer mortgage originations.
The fourth, Old Republic International, swung to a $103 million profit from a $15 million loss for 3Q12.
Unlike the other three, ORI has been
Open title orders are down 33% year-over-year at Fidelity National Financial, the largest underwriter. But higher margin purchase title orders opened are up 10% in the same time frame.
FNF earned $98 million in 3Q13, down from $234 million one year ago.
The company will be making a $400 million public offering of its common stock with the proceeds being used to help pay for the acquisition of Lender Processing Services Inc.
First American Financial Corp. made $64 million in 3Q13, down from $104 million last year. Open orders are down to 316,000 from 438,000 in 3Q12.
Its business mix has shifted, with resale open orders up 16% and refinance open orders down 57%. Refi orders are currently 47% of the business mix, down from 70%.
Stewart Information Services Corp. earned $15 million, down from $35 million in 3Q12. The company’s results are suffering from the improving housing market.
The reduction in distressed properties resulted in its mortgage services unit having a pretax loss of $1 million, compared with pretax profits of $5 million in 3Q12. Revenue in this business line declined more than projected, CEO Matthew Morris says.
CoreLogic, which is a former First American subsidiary, had 3Q13 net income of $44 million, up from $38 million one year ago.
