Criimi Mae Reports '03 Loss

Criimi Mae, Rockville, Md., has reported a net loss of $4.1 million ($0.27 per share) for 2003, a major improvement from the net loss of $65.5 million ($4.77 per share) reported the year before.For the fourth quarter, the commercial mortgage investor and servicer reported net income of $2.6 million ($0.17 per share), compared with a net loss of $34.6 million ($2.48 per share) for the comparable period of 2002. The real estate investment trust attributed the improvement to reductions in impairment charges and interest expenses. In a related teleconference, Barry Blattman, Criimi Mae's chairman and chief executive officer, said the "dialogue is now shifting from challenges to opportunities" for the REIT. He said Criimi Mae is contemplating getting into the "manufacture" of commercial mortgage-backed securities, by originating or purchasing newly originated commercial mortgage loans and issuing CMBS backed by the loans. By servicing the CMBS loans within the company, Criimi Mae says it hopes to differentiate itself from other companies in that arena. Criimi Mae can be found online at http://www.criimimaeinc.com.