Spotlight: Countrywide Credit Posts 25% Profit Gain

Countrywide Credit Industries Inc. said its net income rose 25% in its fiscal third quarter, as lower interest rates generated more demand for loans. Earnings at the Pasadena-based mortgage company rose to $65.9 million, or 62 cents a share, in the quarter ended Nov. 30, from $53 million, or 51 cents, in the year-ago period. Earnings rose because the company has been “seeing some benefits from its sub-prime and core home equity” units, said analyst David Dusenbury at CS First Boston.