Metropolitan Mortgage & Securities Co., of Spokane, has reported net income of about $366,000 for its third fiscal quarter ended June 30, down markedly from net income of about $5 million in the year-earlier quarter.


The latest quarterly earnings, however, were on sharply higher revenues of $34.7 million, up from $27.9 million in the year-earlier quarter.


Summit Securities Inc., a Spokane-based affiliate of Metropolitan, posted net income of about $1.9 million on revenues of $17.8 million for the quarter, up from net income of about $1.4 million on revenues of about $14.8 million.


Through the first three quarters of its 2002 fiscal year, Metropolitan reported an overall net loss of $6.3 million, down from a net loss of $13.3 million for the same period last year. Summit Securities had overall net income of about $3.1 million for the latest nine-month period, up from a $2 million net loss. Both companies fiscal years end Sept. 30.


Erik Skaggs, Metropolitans vice president of production and market development, says a quarter-to-quarter comparison doesnt reflect accurately a continuing financial rebound by Metropolitan following two years of losses.


Metropolitan closed $67 million in new commercial-loan last month, and its on track to approach $100 million in such originations this month, he says.


Despite reporting a net loss of more than $6 million in its 2002 second fiscal quarter, the company has been profitable in four of the last five quarters, after posting sizable losses in three of the previous four quarters, Skaggs says.


Metropolitan now has just under 400 employees, up from around 320 in June 2001, but well below the more than 600 people it had employed a year earlier.