June 12 (Bloomberg) -- Thornburg Mortgage Inc., the ``jumbo'' home lender that averted bankruptcy in April, said it lost $3.31 billion in the first quarter because of writedowns on securities linked to real estate.

The loss before preferred stock dividends was $20.64 a share. That compares with net income of $75 million, or 62 cents a share, a year earlier, Santa Fe, New Mexico-based Thornburg said today in a statement. Chief Executive Officer Larry Goldstone said during a conference call the lender may become profitable this year.

Falling home sales and weak demand from investors who buy mortgages forced Thornburg to seek a bailout from new investors and pushed the stock below $1. The lender has lost $6.65 billion in the past three quarters. Unrealized market losses in the first quarter totaled $1.54 billion on mortgage-backed securities and securitized loans.

Thornburg is among more than 100 lenders that have been forced to halt operations, close, or sell themselves since the beginning of 2007. The company specializes in larger-than- average, adjustable-rate loans that are typically used to buy more expensive homes.

The stock was little changed from yesterday's close of 72 cents on the New York Stock Exchange at 10:30 a.m. and has lost 92 percent of its value this year. To avoid being de-listed from the NYSE, Thornburg shares within the next six months must regain a $1 price and maintain it for more than 30 trading days.

Thornburg said results were hurt by ``modestly increasing delinquencies in our loan portfolio and some additional downgrades of our mortgage-backed securities.'' The overdue loans are likely to rise the rest of this year, Thornburg said.

More Foreclosures

New foreclosures rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.99 percent of all U.S. home loans, up from 0.83 percent in the fourth quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said last week.

Thornburg raised $1.35 billion in a securities offering in March after the declining value of its holdings triggered margin calls from lenders including Bear Stearns Cos., Citigroup Inc. and Credit Suisse Group.

Charges for the financing totaled $949.1 million, Thornburg said today, two weeks after delaying its first-quarter report to account for the capital infusion.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ari Levy in San Francisco at alevy5@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 12, 2008 10:37 EDT