Beazer Homes USA lost nearly $60 million during its fourth quarter amid declining home orders and sales, the company said Friday.
The Atlanta-based builder, one of the largest in the metro area, saw improvement in full-year revenue, home closings and sales, but that is where the good news ceased, Beazer chief executive Ian McCarthy told investors during a conference call.
“I think it is fair to say that while we were pleased with our overall progress in fiscal 2010, we were disappointed with the quarter results,” he said. “The faint silver lining is that by clearing out much of the excess inventory we accumulated last quarter we were able to further strengthen our cash and liquidity positions.”
Beazer lost $59.5 million, or 81 cents per share, in its fourth quarter, which ended Sept. 30. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 46 cents a share, on average.
In the same quarter of 2009 the company logged a profit of $33.8 million, or 84 cents per share.
Closings fell 30 percent from a year earlier, to 1,189, for the quarter, while new orders slipped 20 percent, to 810.
For the full year, however, Beazer said closings rose 6 percent, to 4,645, and new orders gained 0.6 percent, to 4,248, from 2009. The company posted a full-year loss of $34 million, substantially less than the 2009 full-year loss of $189 million.
McCarthy said while the company has pulled out of some markets, he added: “We have the benefit of owning an ample supply of unfinished lots in many of our markets. Our land acquisition efforts are really aimed at controlling positions that can generate home closings through 2012 and beyond.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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