Fannie Mae, the largest U.S. buyer and guarantor of home mortgages, reported Thursday that its profit dropped 36 percent in 2006 and said it expects higher delinquencies and credit losses this year from the turbulence in the mortgage market.

The government-sponsored company, which finances or guarantees one of every five home loans in the United States, said it earned $4.1 billion, or $3.65 a share in 2006, down from $6.35 billion, or $6.01 a share, in 2005 and $5 billion, or $4.94 a share, in 2004.

The decline in profit in 2006 was expected, mainly because of reductions in interest income and ballooning costs from Fannie Mae’s reworking of its accounting following a $6.3 billion scandal that came to light in September 2004.