Replies to post #10624 on ORIONS Money Stocks

[Pennyland]

very nice mover!;')

[langlui]

FMD really laughs my ass off. Swung from profit to loss but stock still went up 71%. What in the world.

First Marblehead falls to loss in 4th quarter
Monday August 18, 10:59 am ET
First Marblehead swings to 4th-quarter, fiscal-year losses


CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Student lender First Marblehead Corp. said Monday it swung to a loss in both the fourth quarter and fiscal 2008.
The Boston-based firm said its fourth-quarter loss amounted to about $57 million, or 57 cents per share. That compares with a profit of $78 million, or 83 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

The loss includes a $60 million charge from increasing discount rates used in determining the fair value of the company's service receivables, the company said.

For the full year, the company said it will post a loss of about $235 million, or $2.46 per share, down from a profit of $371.3 million, or $3.92 per share.

First Marblehead plans to release its results for the quarter ended June 30 later this week.

For the quarter ending June 30, analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expect the company to report a loss of 22 cents per share. For fiscal year 2008, analysts project a loss of $1.86 per share. Analyst estimates typically exclude one-time items.

In May, the company slashed 500 jobs in a move to save $200 million a year amid what it called "an extraordinary challenging business environment."

First Marblehead receives fees for initiating and processing student loans for banks and other lenders. It also packages such loans and sells them as securities.

Shares of First Marblehead shot up $1.27, or 42.3 percent, to $4.28, in morning trading.

On Monday, the company also announced that co-founder Daniel Meyers will return to lead the firm.