KB Home Reports 3Q Loss

Citing continued deterioration in the housing market, Los Angeles-based homebuilder KB Home has reported a net loss of $144.7 million ($1.87 per share) for the fiscal quarter ended Aug. 31, compared with a net loss of $35.6 million ($0.46 per share) a year earlier. The company noted that, excluding $443 million of income from the company's discontinued French operations and the sale of those operations, it took a loss of $478.6 million ($6.19 per share) from continuing operations. The results included a pretax noncash charge of $82.2 million for inventory and joint-venture impairments and a charge of $58.1 million to record a valuation allowance against net deferred tax assets generated during the quarter, the company said. Jeffrey Mezger, the company's president and chief executive officer, said deterioration in the demand for new homes and the availability of mortgage credit "have now been exacerbated by the recent, unprecedented turmoil in financial and credit markets, and it is too early to assess whether the federal government's proposed interventions will be effective." The company can be found online at http://www.kbhome.com.