Merrill Lynch today reported a net loss from continuing operations for the first quarter of 2008 of $1.97 billion, or $2.20 per diluted share, compared to net earnings from continuing operations of $2.03 billion, or $2.12 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2007.
Merrill Lynch’s net loss for the first quarter of 2008 was $1.96 billion, or $2.19 per diluted share, compared to net earnings of $2.16 billion, or $2.26 per diluted share for the year-ago quarter.
First-quarter 2008 net revenues were $2.9 billion, down a staggering 69% from the prior-year period, primarily due to net write-downs totaling $1.5 billion related to US ABS CDOs and credit valuation adjustments of negative $3 billion related to hedges with financial guarantors, most of which related to US super-senior ABS CDOs.
To a lesser extent, net revenues were also impacted by net write-downs related to leveraged finance and residential mortgage exposures, which were offset by a net benefit of $2.1 billion, due to the impact of the widening of Merrill Lynch’s credit spreads on the carrying value of certain of our long-term debt liabilities
Excluding these write-downs, credit valuation adjustments and the net benefit related to long-term debt liabilities, net revenues were $7.4 billion, down 26% from the prior-year period.