Brookfield Homes Reports Smaller Loss In 1Q

FAIRFAX, Va. (AP) — Brookfield Homes Corp. said Monday that its losses narrowed in the first quarter as the land developer and homebuilder cut back on expenses to contend with sharp decline in revenue resulting from fewer home closings.

For the quarter that ended March 31, losses attributable to the company totaled $10.3 million, or 39 cents per share. A year ago, Brookfield reported a wider loss of $12.5 million, or 47 cents per share.

The company said its results for the most recent quarter included $3.9 million in impairments on housing and land inventory and $11.7 million on investments in housing and land joint ventures.

Quarterly revenue tumbled 47 percent to $37.2 million, from $69.7 million in the first quarter of 2008 as home closings declined.

At the same time, Brookfield reduced its selling, general and administrative expenses by 29 percent to $11.7 million.

Brookfield noted that its housing and land inventory included 477 completed homes at the end of 2007, compared with 265 completed homes at the end of 2008. The company said that resulted in higher home closings in the first quarter of 2008, compared with the same period in 2009.