"The challenging market conditions that plagued the homebuilding industry for the first nine months of 2007 worsened in the fourth quarter," Richard Dugas Jr., Pulte's chief executive, said in a statement.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Pulte Homes Inc <PHM.N>, the No. 3 U.S. home builder, said on Wednesday its quarterly net loss widened sharply as a deteriorating housing market led to charges related to the lower value of land and inventory and a tax-loss benefit.
"The challenging market conditions that plagued the homebuilding industry for the first nine months of 2007 worsened in the fourth quarter," Richard Dugas Jr., Pulte's chief executive, said in a statement.
The fourth-quarter net loss increased to $874.7 million, or $3.46 per share, from $8.4 million, or 3 cents per share in the year-earlier quarter.
The U.S. housing market has been in a tailspin for more than two years, with top builders cutting prices and seeing orders dwindle.
!ADVERTISEMENT!Sales of new, U.S. single-family homes plunged 26 percent in 2007, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Monday.
December sales fell 4.7 percent to an annual rate of 604,000, the slowest pace since 1995.
The latest Pulte results included a non-cash charge of $622 million, or $2.46 per share, to eliminate a tax loss-related asset on its balance sheet.
It also recorded charges of $543.3 million, or $1.28 per share, related to lower values of land, inventory and goodwill.
The loss from continuing operations was $893.3 million, or $3.54 per share, compared with a loss of $8.3 million, or 3 cents per share, for the prior year fourth quarter.
Total revenue fell 34 percent to $2.9 billion, while home-building revenue fell 35 percent to $2.8 billion, mainly due to a 31 percent drop in the number of homes sold to 8,714. The average price selling price fell 6 percent to $319,000.
U.S. builders have shifted their focus to survival turning the excess land and inventory accumulated during the boom times of 2002-to-2006 into cash.
Bloomfield Hill, Michigan-based Pulte ended the fourth quarter with $1.1 billion in cash and no debt under its $1.85 billion revolving credit facility.
New orders fell 29 percent to 4,562 compared with the year-earlier quarter, while the value of the homes fell 41 percent to $1.2 billion.
For the first-quarter 2008, the Pulte said it expects to post a loss from continuing operations in the range from 15 cents to 30 cents excluding a tax benefit and any additional impairments or land-related charges.
It also expects to end 2008 with $2 billion to $2.2 billion in cash, including $650 million to $850 million generated from operations and a $250 million tax refund.
Pulte shares were at $13.70 in after-hours trading, up from their close of $13.57 on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Ilaina Jonas; editing by Leslie Gevirtz)
