D.R. Horton Posts Loss on Land Charges

Fort Worth, TX, February 7, 2008--D.R. Horton Inc. said Thursday it swung to a loss in its fiscal first quarter, due to substantial charges to write off inventory and land values.

The nation's largest homebuilder lost $128.8 million, or 41 cents per share, in the quarter compared with profit of $109.7 million, or 35 cents per share, a year ago. The 2008 quarter includes $245.5 million in pretax charges.

Revenue plummeted to $1.71 billion from $2.8 billion last year. Horton closed on 6,549 homes, down from 10,202 in the 2007 quarter.

D.R. Horton said its sales order backlog of homes under contract on Dec. 31 was 8,138 homes ($2.0 billion), compared to 16,694 homes ($4.7 billion), on Dec. 31, 2006. The cancellation rate for the first quarter was 44 percent.

"Market conditions remained challenging in our December quarter as inventory levels of both new and existing homes remained high while pricing remained very competitive," said Donald R. Horton, chairman, in a press release.

"Lending standards continue to be more restrictive than during the previous year, and buyers continued to approach the home buying decision cautiously."

Horton said he expects the housing environment to remain challenging.