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NEW YORK — Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. reported fiscal third-quarter results on Tuesday that provided another sign the battered housing market is limping out of its recession.
The company said its losses for the three months ended June 30 shrank from the year-ago period, topping Wall Street's estimates, as the builder took smaller charges against the falling values of its land and unsold homes.
It also saw new home orders jump 22 percent from the March quarter, reflecting "a stronger than usual seasonal trend," D.R. Horton Chief Executive Donald Tomnitz told Wall Street analysts.
"We believe that 2010 will be a better year overall than 2009," he added. "We think we're at the bottom in 2009."
Still, the executive tempered expectations, saying the housing market faces many obstacles, including competition from foreclosed homes, tighter mortgage lending requirements, low consumer confidence and unemployment.
"These headwinds continue to impact our business, both in our sales volumes and operating margins," Tomnitz said.
The Fort Worth, Texas-based builder said it lost $142.3 million, or 45 cents a share, compared with a loss of $399.3 million, or $1.26 a share, in the prior year.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected a loss of 23 cents a share.
The builder's quarterly revenue fell by 36 percent to $914.1 million. However, the figure beat analyst expectations of $792.1 million for the quarter.
In the latest quarter, D.R. Horton sold 4,240 homes — even after 26 percent of buyers canceled. This marked a small improvement over the second quarter and a hint that conditions in the housing market are slowly getting better.
New home orders totaled 5,089, down about 7.5 percent down from the same period last year.
Executives noted that markets in Maryland and Virginia, buoyed by a brighter job prospects, were doing better, and Mobile, Ala., Pensacola, Fla., and the Carolinas were strong.
D.R. Horton's results followed similar improved numbers from Pulte Homes Inc. and Centex Corp. They reported quarterly results Monday showing new-home orders picked up during the first half of the year. The two are combining operations and will surpass D.R. Horton as the nation's largest homebuilder.
Shares of the Fort Worth, Texas-based company rose 57 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $12.32.
