Homebuilder’s stock tumbles on disappointing earnings

By Sun Staff (contact)

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 | 10:34 a.m.

The stock market today punished Lennar Corp. of Miami, a big homebuilder in Las Vegas, after it reported disappointing first quarter results Monday.

Lennar stock traded at $7.27, off $1.44 or 16.5 percent.

The company reported quarterly revenue of $593.1 million, down 44 percent from the 2008 first quarter. It had a first quarter loss of $155.9 million, or 98 cents per share, compared to a loss of $88.2 million, or 56 cents, in the year-earlier quarter. In the 2009 quarter, the company said losses on land sales and write downs of the value of some of its real estate holdings contributed to the loss.

Lennar, which is marketing homes at 28 developments around the Las Vegas Valley, said that nationwide its home deliveries for the quarter totaled 2,142 homes, down 40 percent; and new orders were down 28 percent to 2,190 homes.

"The housing market continued its downward trend throughout our first quarter. Despite historically low interest rates and some indicators pointing toward market stabilization, low consumer confidence, increased unemployment and growing foreclosure rates negatively impacted new home sales in most of our markets. While we are hopeful that the recent actions taken by the federal government will help stimulate housing demand and restore consumer confidence, we continue to adjust our business to adapt to market conditions," Chief Executive Stuart Miller said in a statement.

The average sales price of homes delivered in the quarter decreased to $244,000 from $278,000 in the same period last year, Lennar said.