Anthracite Capital 1Q profit doubles

Commercial finance real estate investment trust Anthracite Capital Inc. said Thursday its first-quarter profit more than doubled amid challenging credit conditions, beating Wall Street's expectations.

Shares of the company climbed 61 cents, or 7.5 percent, to $8.76 in late morning trading.

Net income jumped 124 percent to $53.7 million, or 79 cents per share, in the first quarter, from $24 million, or 41 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Operating earnings _ which do not include unrealized gains or losses, currency adjustments or impairment charges on assets _ rose to $24 million, or 37 cents per share, from $18.7 million, or 32 cents per share, during the year-ago period.

On average, analysts polled by Thomson Financial expected a quarterly profit of 30 cents per share. Analysts generally exclude special charges in their earnings estimates.

Disruptions in the credit markets have sharply reduced acitvity in the commercial real estate finance sector, the company said, and have caused the value of its credit assets to fall.

"The credit markets reached new lows in March; however, April and early May have shown signs of stabilization, if not modest improvement," said Chief Executive Chris Milner. "Notwithstanding this, our primary focus remains liquidity and capital preservation."