Pulte Homes Inc., with homebuilding operations in Connecticut, said Tuesday its loss narrowed in its fourth quarter, as the homebuilder reported heavy charges that were partly offset by a tax gain.
The Bloomfield Hills, Mich., builder also reported increases in orders and completed sales for the quarter. Pulte has a housing development in Newington.
Pulte said Tuesday it lost $116.9 million, or 31 cents a share, in the quarter. That compares with a loss of $338.2 million, or $1.33 a share, a year earlier.
The results included $925 million in charges related to impairment of assets, the value of land, and its merger with rival Centex last year.
Those charges were balanced by an $800 million tax gain, thanks to a new tax rule allowing companies to offset past losses. As a result of the new rule, the company expects to receive a federal tax refund of $917 million.
Excluding items, Pulte’s results would have been about break-even for the period.
Revenue rose 5 percent to $1.73 billion from $1.64 billion. Revenue was helped by a 13 percent increase in completed sales, partly offset by a 7 percent decrease in the average selling price, to $258,000.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 19 cents a share on revenue of about $1.5 billion. (AP)
