Mortgage lenders specializing in the red-hot subprime and Alternative A markets posted significantly stronger profits in 2004 than did the overall mortgage lending business, according to a new analysis by Inside Mortgage Profitability. A group of 10 specialty lenders reported a total of $3.72 billion in earnings last year, a hefty 16.2 percent increase over the $3.20 billion these same firms earned back in 2003. …