The Canadian Press

Residential mortgage lender Home Capital Group Inc. (TSX:HCG) reports it had a $40.5-million profit in the fourth quarter, up 39.4% from the same time a year earlier.

The Toronto-based lending company, which owns Home Trust, said Wednesday its diluted earnings per share for the three months ended Dec. 31 amounted to $1.16, up from 8¢ per share or $29 million in the fourth quarter of 2008

Home Capital’s revenue improved to $121.4 million, up $3.4 million or 2.9% from the year-earlier period.

The company said the value of residential mortgages on its balance sheet increased to $4.37 billion as of Dec. 31, up 33.9% from $3.26 billion at the end of 2008.

Its mortgage originations totalled $1.39 billion in the fourth quarter, up from $999.1 million in the same period of 2008. Almost all of the most recent quarter’s mortgages were for residential properties, including $1 billion for single-family dwellings — up 77.6% from the fourth quarter of 2008.

Non-residential mortgages totalled $60.2 million in the fourth quarter, up from $48.9 million a year before.

Impaired loans represented 0.85% of the total portfolio in the most recent quarter and 0.86% in the fourth quarter of 2008. The impairment rate had been higher in the second and third quarters of 2009: 1.3% at the end of June and 1.2% at the end of September.

Home Capital shares traded Wednesday at $43.58 on the Toronto Stock Exchange, up 33¢.