Opteum Delays 10-Q Filing

Opteum Inc., Vero Beach, Fla., has filed a form 12b-25 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, notifying the regulator that it will not file its 10-Q until Aug. 14.Opteum revealed that it expects to report a loss of $162.5 million ($6.53 per share) for the quarter, with $82.0 million coming from continuing operations and $80.5 million from discontinued operations (its mortgage originations business). During the second quarter, Opteum shut its wholesale and correspondent channels and sold its retail business. It also sold $5.67 billion of its mortgage servicing portfolio. The company reached an agreement to sell the remainder of the portfolio, $2.97 billion, on July 26. "The magnitude of our second-quarter estimated losses is far greater than we could have imagined when the second quarter began, and such losses were precipitated by the now well-known developments in the secondary market for mortgage loans," said Jeffrey J. Zimmer, chairman, president, and chief executive officer. "We were unable to immunize ourselves from these developments, and our second-quarter results were significantly impacted as a result. However, unlike some other mortgage market participants, we have survived the recent market turmoil and we believe that we are well positioned for the future."