Freddie, Ambac, others report earnings

Freddie Mac of McLean, Va., today reported a second-quarter loss of $821 million, a decline of $1.63 per diluted share. That’s down from a profit of $729 million, or a gain of 96 cents per share, from the comparable period a year earlier. The performance marks the fourth consecutive quarter in which the second-largest provider of U.S. residential mortgage funding wound up in the red. Freddie Mac also said it remained committed to raising $5.5 billion in capital. Ambac Financial Group Inc. of New York more than quadrupled its quarterly earnings, reporting $823.1 million in profits, or $2.80 per fully diluted share. That marks a substantial increase from the $173.0 million in profits, or $1.67 gain per fully diluted share, in the second quarter of 2007. The bond insurer attributed its higher profits to market-to-market gains on credit derivatives and increased accelerated premiums from refunding, as well as putting aside fewer dollars for loss-reserve purposes in connection with its direct residential mortgage-backed securities portfolio. GLG Partners Inc. reported a net loss of $93.6 million, or a drop of 44 cents per share, during the second quarter. That’s down from a net profit of $124.4 million, a gain of 64 cents per share, in the same period last year. The New York-based hedge fund reported that its loss included $140.3 million in non-cash compensation expenses related to the firm’s reverse acquisition transaction last November with Freedom Acquisition Holdings Inc., also of New York. New York-based NASDAQ OMX Group today announced a second-quarter profit of $101.8 million, a gain of 48 cents per share. That is up from $56.1 million, or 39 cents per share, in the same period last year. Revenue increased to $821.5 million, or $380 million after deducting for liquidity rebates, brokerage costs, and clearance and exchange fees. The latter is an increase of 13.1%, or $43.9 million, from the second quarter last year. National Financial Partners Corp., the New York-based network of independent financial advisers, recorded flat profits of $10.4 million, or 25 cents per diluted share, for the second quarter — a repeat performance from the same period in 2007. However, revenue increased $4.5 million, hitting $287.5 million, thanks to revenue growth from acquired firms. NFP’s distribution utilities, including its insurance agency and marketing organization, NFP Insurance Services Inc., and its registered broker-dealer, NFP Securities Inc., also contributed to revenue gains. Those distribution entities brought in $71.3 million in the second quarter, an increase of $8.3 million. National Planning Holdings Inc. of Santa Monica, Calif., today said that its total sales hit $7.4 billion for the first half of 2008, up 6.8% from the same period in 2007. Of that, $3.8 billion in sales were generated in the second quarter, a 4.6% gain from the first quarter. Revenue in the first half hit $318 million, a 10% increase from $289 million. The independent broker-dealer network also increased the size of its sales force to 3,025 registered representatives in the first half, compared to 2,819 in the year-ago period. Second quarter profits tumbled for Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC, as the firm reported a net loss of $60.8 million, or a drop of $1.05 per share. That’s down from a profit of $114.3 million during the same quarter last year. New York-based Och-Ziff said its losses include $425.6 million in expenses related to its initial public offering. Equity interests were awarded to the firm’s owners prior to the IPO, and since they vest over five years, the firm predicts it will report quarterly net losses until that time is up. Old Mutual PLC of London today said that its profit from continuing operations before taxes fell to 835 million pounds, or $1.6 billion, during the first six months of the year. That’s down 2% from the same period a year ago. Sales of mutual funds fell 18% to 3.4 billion pounds, or $6.6 billion. Things have been rocky for the U.S. life insurance division, where the adjusted operating profit slumped to $12 million, down from $60 million in the previous year. Total life sales were $3.2 billion on a gross basis, up 25% from the first half of 2007. The firm announced that, due to guarantee costs, it would withdraw its guaranteed variable annuity products, effective Aug. 15. This product will be relaunched and restructured later this year.