Lehman has $3.9 billion quarterly loss; to sell, spin off assets
Lehman Bros. Holdings on Wednesday said it lost $3.9 billion in the third quarter after taking a gross mark-to-market loss of $7.8 billion.
The company also said it cut its quarterly dividend to 5 cents a share from 68 cents a share and will spin off its commercial real-estate holdings to shareholders while selling a majority stake in its Neuberger Berman investment-management division.
Lehman's third-quarter loss amounted to $5.62 a share.
Analysts surveyed by FactSet Research had been looking for the company to report a loss of $2.81 a share, while Morgan Stanley predicted the financial firm would post a loss of $2.80 a share, on the back of a $3.5 billion write-down.
The firm said late Tuesday that it would report third-quarter results before the open Wednesday, a week earlier than had been anticipated, in a bid to calm investors shaken by a session that wiped out nearly half of the brokerage firm's market
Shares of Lehman , which had been scheduled to report results on Sept. 18, fell about 45% on Tuesday, plunging to $7.79. It was the company's biggest one-day percentage decline ever, dragging the share price down 85% from where it stood a year ago.
Pressure has been building on Lehman to disclose its financial status as financial markets have grown increasingly concerned over its ability to raise capital and shed underperforming assets, against a backdrop of the government taking over Freddie Mae and Freddie Mac and, earlier this year, Bear Stearns collapsing.
Underscoring concerns about the brokerage's financial health, Standard & Poor's put Lehman credit ratings under review for possible downgrade on Tuesday.
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