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Net Income Falls 79% At Luxury-Home BuilderPHILADELPHIA, May 24 (AP) — Government data showing an unexpected surge in new-home sales was little comfort to the luxury-home builder Toll Brothers, which reported a 79 percent decline in its fiscal second-quarter profit on Thursday. Shares of Toll Brothers initially rose as much as 4.6 percent before falling back, and closed at $30.07, up 30 cents. Other home builders also gave up their gains. The Philadelphia housing sector index, which tracks housing stocks, was down after an early rise. What youre seeing is the blue-light special, said Pat McPherron, an economist with Moodys Economy.com. The only way this market is going to move is by price-cutting. Robert I. Toll, the chief executive of Toll Brothers, was cautious. In a conference call with analysts, he said he was a little more confident, but I would emphasize a little. Over the years, Toll Brothers has not cut prices as quickly as other builders. In the quarter, it reported net income of $36.7 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with $174.9 million, or $1.06 a share, in the period a year earlier. Revenue fell to $1.17 billion from $1.44 billion the year before Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial had estimated profit of 25 cents a share on revenue of $1.12 billion. The quarter included write-downs of $72.9 million, or 44 cents a share. Excluding one-time items, the company would have earned 66 cents a share, compared with $1.10 a share last year. Second-quarter net signed contracts fell 25 percent, to $1.17 billion. The company signed 2,031 contracts, before cancellations, in the latest period, a 14 percent decline from a year earlier. Joe Snider, an analyst with Moodys Investors Service in New York, noted that Toll Brothers had managed its debt so that interest payments were not weighing as heavily on earnings as at other home builders. Last month, Pulte Homes posted a quarterly loss, while D. R. Horton said its earnings fell 85 percent. Profit at the Centex Corporation dropped 49 percent in what the company called one of the most difficult housing slumps in 25 years. Toll said it expected to deliver 6,100 to 6,900 homes this fiscal year and to produce total home-building revenue of $4.26 billion to $4.88 billion. For the third quarter, which ends July 31, the company said it expected to deliver 1,400 to 1,800 homes and produce revenue of $990 million to $1.28 billion. The bad times may not be behind us yet, but it could be, Mr. Toll said. You never know. Tag CloudExternal InformationAdditional InformationHot economy fans rate fears...Libraries Shun Deals to Place Books on Web... Eastman Kodak Profit Rises... Some Banks (Yes, Banks) May Be Back in Favor... Where Am I?News Main Page - Business - Net Income Falls 79% At Luxury-Home Builder |
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