Homestore Reports $5.1-Million Loss in 1st Quarter

Homestore Inc., the largest provider of homes-for-sale listings on the Internet, said Thursday that it lost $5.1 million in the first quarter and posted a slight gain in revenue.

The Westlake Village company said the loss amounted to 4 cents a share, 1 cent short of analysts’ expectations for the three months ended March 31. In the same period a year earlier, the company posted a profit of $87.2 million, or 72 cents a share, thanks to a one-time gain of $104.1 million.

The first-quarter loss was half that of the fourth quarter, when Homestore lost $12.1 million, or 10 cents a share. First-quarter revenue rose 2%, to $56.1 million.

The period “was the first quarter in history where we generated positive cash flow from operations,” said Lewis Belote, chief financial officer, in a conference call with analysts.

The company had $41.1 million in cash and short-term investments available to fund operations, an increase of $5.5 million from the previous quarter.

Homestore operates Realtor.com for the National Assn. of Realtors and HomeBuilder.com for the National Assn. of Home Builders. It also operates an online apartment listing service and produces software for the real estate industry.

The once highflying company ran into trouble in 2001, and several of its executives and business partners were later sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which accused them of inflating revenue by $160 million through fraudulent transactions during the dot-com boom. Last year, seven former employees and business partners of Homestore settled charges relating to those transactions. Four financial officers pleaded guilty to fraud.

In March, the company received final court approval for a $91-million settlement of a shareholder lawsuit brought by the California State Teachers’ Retirement System.

Homestore shares fell 23 cents to $4.23 on Nasdaq on Thursday. The results were released after the market closed.