Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL) lost $111.4 million in the fiscal fourth quarter, but the luxury homebuilder is seeing signs of a turnaround in the housing market, according to Associated Press.
The company's loss of 68 cents a share was largely due to continued write downs on the value of its land holdings and staff reductions. Excluding those charges, the builder almost broke even. In the year-ago quarter, which included a larger amount of write downs, Toll lost $78.8 million, or 49 cents a share.
Penny Stock Professor, a leading financial publication, is pleased to alert investors of stocks on the move. Sign Up for our Free Penny Stock Picks.
Revenue for the quarter ended Oct. 31 fell 30 percent to $486.6 million from $691.1 million.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 46 cents a share on revenue of about $450.1 million.
Investors were disappointed and sent Toll's shares down almost 6 percent, or $1.11 a share, to $18.38 in late morning trading.
The industry has been buoyed by an $8,000 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers, which was extended last month and expanded to include $6,500 for existing homeowners. That was especially good news for Toll, whose luxury homes are marketed to buyers looking to trade up from their existing homes.
Sales of new homes have increased six out of the past seven months, according to government data. They dipped in September, but surged in October to the highest level in more than a year.
Toll said he believes there will be further consolidation in the industry. With fewer competitors and a strong balance sheet, he said, "we believe we are well-positioned to gain market share as the housing market gradually recovers."
Toll Brothers posted a 42 percent jump in new sales contracts and a healthy cancellation rate of just 7 percent.
Stronger sales in some of its communities have allowed Toll to cut back on incentives and even raise its prices. The Horsham, Pa., company has operations in 21 states and was ranked the 14th largest homebuilder in the U.S. last year by Builder magazine.
For Toll Brothers' full fiscal year, the net loss was $755.8 million, or $4.68 per share, which included write downs of $848.9 million. For fiscal 2008, the builder lost $297.8 million, or $1.88 per share.
Total revenue dropped to $1.76 billion from $3.15 billion.
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/pennystockspro
Sign up for the free Penny Stock Professor newsletter. To subscribe, enter your e-mail address into the frame at the bottom of this press release or visit our website.
About Us
Penny Stock Professor is a leading stock web site that allows investors and interested parties to research stocks that are on the move. We also track small cap companies that are on the brink of a financial breakout. To feature a company on our web site please contact us at the email listed below.
Please click here to read the full disclaimer.
