In its first earnings report as a publicly traded company, mortgage software provider Ellie Mae posted a net loss of $800,000 for the first quarter of 2011.
Revenue was up 19% over the first quarter of 2010, $10.6 million in 1Q11 compared to $8.9 million a year ago. The first quarter loss was equivalent to $0.22 per share, better than the $1.6 million ($0.48 per share) loss in 1Q10.
The first quarter loss compares to net income of approximately $84,500 in 4Q10 off revenue of $12.7 million.
There were 41,351 lender mortgage professionals who used Ellie Mae’s Encompass loan origination system at least once during the quarter, up 18% from 34,987 in 1Q10 and up 4.2% from 4Q10.
Active broker mortgage professionals using the software sat at 11,014 at the end of 2010—down 49% from the same period of 2009—but Ellie Mae did not disclose the number of active brokers during 1Q11. The company only filed a Form 8-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission Wednesday. The full quarterly report is pending the registration of Ellie Mae’s 1Q11 Form 10-Q.
In a call with analysts after the close of markets Wednesday, Sig Anderman, the president and CEO of Ellie Mae, said the number of broker users dropped below 10,000 in 1Q10, the result of a declining number of mortgage brokers in the industry.
“The broker market is being pretty much decimated out there,” Anderman said. “We’re not focusing at all on brokers. Our entire focus is on lenders because that’s where the future is in this business; it’s pretty clear from virtually every perspective.”
