Origen Reduces Earnings For 2004

Origen Financial Inc., a Southfield, Mich.-based real estate investment trust that originates manufactured housing loans is reducing its reported interest income and earnings recognized by $1.7 million for the 14-month period ended Dec. 31, 2004.The reduction, it said, comes from "an isolated interpretive error" in accounting for a pool of loans acquired at a discount in October 2003. Loans acquired from others at a discount must be accounted for differently than loans originated by Origen. The pool, which has a face value of $56 million, was bought for $48 million; the discount was because of the known and anticipated number of delinquencies in the pool. The appropriate accounting treatment will reduce earnings per share at Origen by $0.03 per share for the period Oct. 8, 2003 to Dec. 31, 2003 and will increase the loss per share for 2004 by $0.06. Therefore, Origen has a loss of $3.0 million or $0.14 per share for 2004, instead of the reported $1.8 million or $0.08 per share loss.