Imperial Corp. Profitable for 1st Time Since ’80

SAN DIEGO — Imperial Corp. of America on Tuesday reported its first profitable year since 1980, thanks primarily to several extraordinary gains.

The S&L; holding company posted net income of $10 million for the year ended last Dec. 31, compared to a loss of $34.9 million in 1983. For the fourth quarter, Imperial--parent of Imperial Savings & Loan Assn.--reported net income of $9.8 million, compared to a loss of $23.3 million a year earlier.

The full-year profit was aided by extraordinary earnings of $8.5 million, including a $4-million gain on stock in the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., a $3.3-million tax credit and a $1.2-million gain from the repurchase of mortgage-backed securities.

In the fourth quarter, extraordinary income totaled $6.5 million, including the $4 million from FHLM stock, tax credits of $1.4 million and a gain from the repurchase of mortgage-backed securities of $1.1 million.

Imperial originated a record $2.7 billion in new loans last year and had deposit gains of $1.3 billion, also a company record. Total assets grew to $8.5 billion at year-end from $6.1 billion a year earlier.

Chairman Matthew Shevlin said that recently formed commercial lending, mortgage banking and consumer lending operations are expected to add to profits in 1985.