Newport Beach-based homebuilder William Lyon Homes Inc. on Wednesday reported a $69 million loss for the first quarter, a big jump from a year earlier, thanks in large part to write-downs of more than $62 million for land the company owns or has opted not to build on.
The company, which went private in 2006 but still reports results for debt holders, posted revenue of $69.3 million in the first quarter, a 50% decrease from a year earlier.
William Lyon Homes reported revenue of $146.4 million in the fourth quarter.
Losses for the first quarter included a $24.1 million impairment loss on assets the company currently owns, and an additional $37.9 million write-off of land deposits and pre-acquisition costs on projects the builder believes are no longer viable.
William Lyon Homes reported less than $1 million in net losses for the first quarter of 2008, and saw a $23.2 million loss in the fourth quarter.
The company saw new home orders, or contracts to buy a William Lyon home, fall 51% from a year ago, to 182 orders in the first quarter.
The average price of a home sale in the first quarter dropped to $300,800 from $372,000 a year ago.
William Lyon Homes builds in California, Arizona and Nevada.
