Homebuilder Levitt makes a huge Q3 loss; subsidiary files for bankruptcy
15 Nov 2007
US developer and homebuilder Levitt Corp has said it made a huge third-quarter loss in 2007. The company also announced that its Levitt and Sons LLC subsidiary has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based company reported a third-quarter net loss of $169.2 million or $8.37 a share, compared with net income of $3 million or 14 cents a share in the third quarter of 2006.
The third quarter included pre-tax charges of roughly $163.6 million associated with impairment charges of $154.3 million on homebuilding inventory at Levitt and Sons. Excluding this, pre-tax loss would have been around $12.6 million, versus $4.4 million in the same period in 2006.
The homebuilding industry, particularly in Florida, has experienced unprecedented declines with an oversupply of inventory and waning demand exacerbated by recent disruptions in the credit markets.