Newhall Land & Farming Reports 4th-Quarter Profit

Newhall Land & Farming, a real estate and agriculture concern that is developing Valencia, said its fourth-quarter profit nearly tripled from a year earlier, to $28.8 million from $10.1 million.

The higher earnings came as Newhall’s revenue climbed to $97.2 million from $69.8 million. Newhall’s year-to-year results often vary widely depending on how many houses, commercial buildings and land parcels the company sells.

For all of 1989, Newhall earned $68.7 million, up 28% from $53.6 million the previous year. Its annual revenue rose to $238.3 million from $208.2 million.

Separately, Newhall’s board approved the periodic repurchase of as much as 1 million more of its depository units, or 2.6% of the 38 million total units outstanding. Newhall is organized as a master limited partnership whose units trade in the same way as shares of stock.

Since it began its buyback program in 1987, Newhall has spent $154 million to repurchase 6.1 million, or 14%, of the units outstanding at the end of 1986.