Santa Ana-based First American Corp. on Thursday reported a loss of $67.5 million for the fourth quarter, a result of declining revenue in its core title insurance business, higher taxes and $26 million in restructuring charges.
The company, which last month announced plans to separate its business providing title insurance for homes and other real estate from its growing data division, had earned a profit of $104 million in the year-ago quarter.
Fourth quarter revenues for First American,Orange County’s second-largest company by sales,fell 14% to $1.9 billion from $2.2 billion a year ago.
Revenue in its dominant title insurance division dropped 19% to $1.2 billion in the quarter, from $1.5 billion a year ago.
The title business decline was largely a result of declining mortgages, the company said.
For all 2007, the company’s revenue was $8.2 billion, a 4% drop from a year ago. The company posted a net loss of $3.1 million for 2007, compared to profits of $287.7 million in 2006.
Officials said they have seen an increase in title orders during January and February. But the company expects the real estate and mortgage markets to remain difficult in 2008.
The title division reduced staff by about 1,100 during the fourth quarter, leading to a large part of the restructuring charges.
First American said its spinoff of its financial services business is expected to close in the third quarter.
