Velocity Financial recovers from pandemic with strong fourth quarter
Velocity Financial saw its net income increase slightly from 2019 to 2020, even though the company’s loan production operations were suspended for more than half the year.
The Westlake Village-based real estate finance company saw its net income go up 3%, from $17.3 million in 2019 to $17.8 million in 2020, according to earnings released March 16. Much of the year’s income came in the fourth quarter, when Velocity Financial registered $9.6 million in net and core income, or 29 cents per diluted share.
During the year, the company produced $435 million in unpaid principal balance, even though it suspended its loan operations from March through September due to the pandemic. Velocity produced $179.3 million in loans in the fourth quarter alone.
Velocity Financial completed its initial public offering in January 2020, and also issued 45,000 shares of preferred stock and warrants. It used the money it earned from those activities to help pay down warehouse debt and create new loans for the company.
“The fourth quarter marked a significant turning point in the company’s emergence from the effects of the pandemic,” Velocity CEO Chris Farrar said in a news release. “The excellent operating results reflect the strength of our business model, despite unprecedented economic stress in 2020.”
Velocity Financial closed at $8.70 on March 16, and rose more than 7% in after-hours trading, after it released its earnings report.
