Toll Brothers suffers second straight loss
Toll Brothers Inc, the largest US luxury homebuilder, reported its biggest quarterly loss in 22 years as the worst housing recession in more than two decades forced the company to write down the value of developments.
The net loss in the fiscal first quarter ended Jan 31 amounted to $96 million, or 61 cents a share, compared with earnings of $54.3 million, or 33 cents, a year earlier, the Horsham, Pennsylvania-based company said yesterday. Toll was projected to report a loss of 50 cents a share, according to the average estimate of 10 analysts in a Bloomberg survey.
Home prices fell in December by the most on record, deterring consumers from buying houses. Interest rate cuts have failed to prevent mortgage costs from rising, and banks are making it harder to qualify for loans. The company's first-quarter loss was the second in a row.
"Ceaseless talk of a recession continues to dampen the mood of consumers," Chief Executive Officer Robert Toll said in the statement. "This drumbeat, coupled with concerns over mortgages, the direction of home prices, and foreclosures, has kept pent-up demand on the sidelines."
The results included pre-tax writedowns of $245.5 million, or 93 cents a share.
Toll Brothers climbed $1.20, or 5.5 percent, to $23.12 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading on Tuesday.
Agencies
(China Daily 02/28/2008 page17)
