Redwood Trust Reports First Quarter 2010 Results

MILL VALLEY, Calif., May 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Redwood Trust, Inc. (NYSE: RWT) today reported net income for the first quarter of 2010 of $47 million, or $0.58 per share. This compares to net income of $40 million, or $0.51 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2009, and a net loss of $35 million, or $0.65 per share, for the first quarter of 2009.

Redwood also reported that it had estimated taxable income of $1 million, or $0.01 per share, during the first quarter of 2010.  This compares to an estimated taxable loss of $34 million, or $0.44 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2009, and a taxable loss of $14 million, or $0.22 per share, for the first quarter of 2009.  

At March 31, 2010, GAAP book value was $12.84 per share, an increase of $0.34 per share, or 3%, from December 31, 2009, and management's estimate of non-GAAP economic value was $13.32 per share, an increase of $0.29 per share, or 2%, from December 31, 2009.

During the first quarter of 2010, Redwood acquired $189 million of residential securities and sold $124 million of securities.   Redwood ended the quarter with a total securities portfolio of $840 million, up from $781 million at the beginning of the quarter, and with $242 million of cash and cash equivalents.

Please see the tables that follow for reconciliations between GAAP and non-GAAP metrics.   Additional information on Redwood's business, financial results, and on non-GAAP metrics is available in Redwood's Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2010, which was filed today with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and is also available on Redwood's website at www.redwoodtrust.com.

The accounting concepts and disclosures relating to Redwood's financial statements are complex. The Redwood Review is an additional publication that provides information about Redwood. Today, The Redwood Review was released covering the first quarter of 2010 and is available at www.redwoodtrust.com.

Cautionary Statement:  This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements involve numerous risks and uncertainties. Our actual results may differ from our beliefs, expectations, estimates, and projections and, consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Forward-looking statements are not historical in nature and can be identified by words such as "anticipate," "estimate," "will," "should," "expect," "believe," "intend," "seek," "plan" and similar expressions or their negative forms, or by references to strategy, plans, or intentions. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, among other things, those described in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2009, under the caption "Risk Factors." Other risks, uncertainties, and factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected may be described from time to time in reports we file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including reports on Forms 10-Q and 8-K. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

(a) Our investments in Sequoia entities consist predominately of interest-only securities, and, to a smaller extent, senior and subordinate securities issued by Sequoia entities. We calculated the $48 million estimate of economic value for these securities using the same valuation process that we follow to fair value our other real estate securities. In contrast, the $77 million of GAAP carrying value of these investments represents the difference between the assets and liabilities owned by the Sequoia entities.

(b) The GAAP carrying value and the fair value of our investments in Acacia entities was $1 million, which primarily reflects the present value of the management fees we expect to earn from these entities. The equity interests and securities we own in the Acacia entities have minimal value.

(c) At March 31, 2010, we had $140 million of long-term debt outstanding at an interest rate of LIBOR plus 225 basis points due in 2037. We calculated the $73 million estimate of economic value of this debt using the same valuation process used to fair value our other financial assets and liabilities.

(d) Other assets/liabilities, net are comprised of $2 million of real estate loans, $4 million of accrued interest receivable, and $19 million of other assets, less dividends payable of $19 million and accrued interest and other liabilities of $44 million (which includes $33 million for pending acquisitions).  

* This table presents supplemental non-GAAP components of book value at March 31, 2010, as reported under GAAP and as estimated by us using fair values for our investments. We show our investments in the Fund, and the Sequoia and Acacia entities as separate line items to highlight our specific ownership interests, as the underlying assets and liabilities of these entities are legally not ours. Our non-GAAP estimated economic value is calculated using bid-side asset marks (or estimated bid-side values) and offer-side marks for our financial liabilities (or estimated offered-side values), as required to determine fair value under GAAP.   For additional information to consider when reviewing this table, please see "Factors Affecting Management's Estimate of Economic Value" in our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2010.  

* The sources and uses of cash in the table above are derived from our GAAP Consolidated Statements of Cash Flow by aggregating and netting cash flow in a manner consistent with the way management analyzes it. This table excludes the gross cash flow generated by our Sequoia and Acacia securitization entities and the Fund (cash flow that is not available to Redwood), but does include the cash flow distributed to Redwood as a result of our investments in these entities. The beginning and ending cash balances presented in the table above are GAAP amounts.

** Total acquisitions in the first quarter 2010 were $189 million, of which $33 million of these acquisitions were settled in early April.  In the fourth quarter of 2009, all acquisitions settled within the period.  

SOURCE Redwood Trust, Inc.