D.R. Horton to Report Net Loss After Orders Plunge

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide
D.R. Horton to Report Net Loss After Orders Plunge (Update6)
By Brian Louis


A D.R. Horton home under construction

July 10 (Bloomberg) -- D.R. Horton Inc., the second-largest U.S. homebuilder, will report a third-quarter loss after orders plunged 40 percent, and said it sees no sign of a housing rebound.

``We expect the housing environment to remain challenging,'' Chairman Donald Horton said today in a statement. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company is planning a ``significant'' writedown in the value of its real estate, and the shares fell to a three-year low.

D.R. Horton said orders dropped in every region, with the steepest declines in California and the northeast. The average price for its houses slid 12 percent to $233,672. Ryland Group Inc., a Calabasas, California-based homebuilder, said today it will report a second-quarter loss of as much as $1.35 a share. Lennar Corp., the biggest homebuilder by revenue, last month reported a loss along with falling revenue.

``All these companies face a lot of pressure,'' said Thomas Smith, an equity analyst at Standard & Poor's in New York. ``It's a tidal wave of trouble.''