MuniMae Reports Huge Profit Increase

Municipal Mortgage & Equity, Baltimore, has reported net income of $18.1 million ($0.63 per share) for the third quarter, a huge increase from the $0.2 million ($0.01 per share) reported for the third quarter of 2002.The increase resulted mainly from a $13.4 million improvement in "unrealized gains on derivative securities" during the period, the company said. The investor in multifamily debt and equity (mostly in tax-exempt bonds) has declared a dividend of $0.45 per share for the third quarter, up 2% from the comparable period of 2002. During the third quarter, MuniMae has provided $317 million in financing for multifamily housing and raised $145 million in tax credit equity, the company said. It has also closed on the previously reported acquisition of HCI, a unit of Lend Lease Corp. MuniMae can be found online at http://www.munimaemidland.com.