Standard Pacific Reports Smaller 3Q Loss

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) — Homebuilder Standard Pacific Corp. on Thursday reported a much narrower third-quarter loss as it booked fewer charges to write down land values amid the housing slump.

The company lost $9.3 million, or 10 cents per share, during the quarter that ended Sept. 30. That was a sharp improvement from its loss of $204.7 million, or $2.54 per share, during the same period a year earlier, when it recorded $368.4 million in impairment charges linked to declining land values.

Excluding restructuring and other special charges, the company would have posted a loss of $3.6 million, or a penny a share.

Revenue fell 18 percent to $327.4 million from $400.3 million a year earlier. The revenue included $57.5 million from land sales.

Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting the company to lose 7 cents per share on revenue of $284.6 million.

New home deliveries fell to 893 from 1,188 a year ago. The average selling price fell 9 percent to $302,000, from $332,000 a year earlier.