Last year, Boston-based student lender First Marblehead Corp. split its business focus, concentrating separately on education financing and securitization trusts to insulate one from the other – and still reported a net loss of $83.8 million in its fiscal fourth quarter ended June 30.

Net income for the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 was $4.4 million.

The consolidated results reflect the asset performance, including net losses, of 14 securitization trusts that have been structured to provide recourse only to the assets of the particular securitization trust and not to the assets of the company, its subsidiaries or any other securitization trust, the company said in a statement.

"We made strong progress during the fourth quarter to position the company for future growth," said Daniel Meyers, chairman and CEO. "We invested in our loan distribution capabilities through the expansion of our national sales force, and the launch of Monogram-based loan programs by Union Federal extended our geographic reach to 50 states in time for the peak lending season."

For the quarter ended June 30, the net loss for the company’s education financing segment was $19.5 million – a loss the company largely attributed to a lower income tax benefit of $13.8 million.

The net loss for the securitization trusts segment was $64.5 million, largely the result of an increase in the provision for loan losses of $41.9 million in the current quarter and a $21 million bump in expenses.

As of June 30, the company said it had $267.4 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments, compared to $278.7 million at March 31.