Newhall Land Reports 78% Drop in Profit

Newhall Land & Farming Co., hurt by the region’s real-estate slump, said its first-quarter profit plunged 78% from a year earlier on a 49% decline in revenue.

In the quarter that ended Sept. 30, earnings at the Valencia-based company dropped to $1.85 million from $8.57 million, while revenue fell to $24.6 million from $48.6 million.

“Lower home sales and delays in the closing of escrows for industrial land sales were the primary reasons,” Newhall Chairman Thomas L. Lee said in a statement.

Newhall’s agricultural operations also posted lower results, largely because of the winter freeze and “increased water costs resulting from the drought,” Lee said.

For the first nine months of this year, Newhall’s profit tumbled 51% from a year earlier, to $13.7 million from $28.2 million. Its nine-month revenue fell 38%, to $88.2 million from $141.8 million.