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Pulte Homes 4Q Loss Widens On Land Charges
Pulte Homes Inc.'s (PHM) fourth-quarter net loss widened as the company took more charges to reflect the decreased value of unsold homes and reduce its land inventory in a slumping housing market.

Shares rose 1% after hours as the company also projected a loss in the first quarter of 2008 but a smaller one than Wall Street is expecting.

The Bloomfield Hills, Mich., home builder reported a net loss of $874.7 million, or $3.46 a share, compared with a net loss of $8.4 million, or 3 cents a share, a year earlier.

The latest results included $1.28 a share in inventory impairments, other land-related charges and impairments of goodwill. Pulte also recorded an after- tax, noncash deferred-tax valuation allowance of $2.46 a share.

Year-earlier results included 64 cents a share in land and goodwill charges.

Pulte said its loss from continuing operations was $3.54 a share, compared with a loss of 3 cents a share a year earlier.

In November, Pulte reaffirmed its guidance that it would turn a fourth-quarter profit excluding charges.

Revenue dropped 34% to $2.9 billion.

Analysts' mean estimates were for a loss of 50 cents a share on revenue of $ 2.73 billion, according to a poll by Thomson Financial.

Chief Executive Richard J. Dugas Jr. said, "The challenging market conditions that plagued the homebuilding industry for the first nine months of 2007 worsened in the fourth quarter. Levels of new and existing home inventory remain elevated, buyer demand for new homes continues to be weak, and mortgage availability is still a problem for many prospective homebuyers."

Net new home orders fell 29% to 4,562 homes, valued at $1.2 billion. Closings dropped 31% to 8,714 as the average sales price declined 6% to $319,000.

The company's backlog as of Dec. 31 was valued at $2.5 billion, or 7,890 homes, compared with $3.6 billion, or 10,255 homes a year earlier.

Unlike other home builders, Pulte, which builds active-adult communities as well as traditional homes, has not cut prices or offered incentives to buyers except in "limited cases."

In May, Pulte cut about 16% of its work force, or about 2,000 jobs, in a restructuring aimed at saving $200 million a year before taxes.

Looking ahead, Pulte predicted a net loss from continuing operations of 15 cents to 30 cents a share, excluding items. "This projection reflects the ongoing tough operating environment for homebuilding," Dugas said.

Analysts' mean estimates were for a first-quarter loss of 41 cents a share on revenue of $1.42 billion.

Pulte's shares were at $13.70, up 1% in after-hours trading. The stock has fallen 61% since its 52-week high of $35.56 a year ago, but it has rallied recently as the Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates, as it did again Wednesday.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200801301846DOWJONESDJONLINE000922_FORTUNE5.htm