ATLANTA -Beazer Homes USA Inc. said Tuesday its fiscal fourth-quarter loss shrank, as new home orders and closings both increased.
For the quarter ended Sept. 30, the Atlanta-based homebuilder posted a loss of $43.2 million, or 58 cents per share, compared with a loss of $59.5 million, or 81 cents per share, for the same quarter last year.
Excluding discontinued operations, the company said it posted a loss of $42.4 million, or 57 cents per share.
Revenue rose 25 percent to $334.9 million from $268.7 million in the year-ago period.
Analysts, on average, expected a loss of 37 cents per share on $309.9 million in revenue, according to a FactSet poll.
Beazer's improved sales trends for the quarter echo those of other major homebuilders. This year's numbers, however, are stacked up next to last year when tax credits aimed at spurring sales expired and sent demand down sharply.
In Beazer's July-September quarter, new orders from continuing operations rose 33 percent to 1,006, while home closings increased 23 percent to 1,376.
The company's average sale price fell to $228,100 from $236,600.
For the full fiscal 2011 year, Beazer's loss swelled to $204.9 million, or $2.77 per share, from a loss of $34 million, or 57 cents per share, in fiscal 2010. That's the company fifth straight annual net loss.
Revenue fell 25 percent to $742.4 million from $991.2 million.
Beazer shares added a penny to $2.23 in premarket trading. Shares have lost nearly 60 percent of their value in 2011.
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