COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE : Irvine Co. Announces Rosy Earnings for Fiscal 1992 in Memo

The Irvine Co. this week released its version of an annual earnings report--a letter from Chairman Donald L. Bren touting the huge developer’s successful fiscal 1992.

“Our flexibility, strength and resilience were all tested, as we sought to be responsive to unprecedented changes in our economic environment,” Bren wrote. “We set aggressive objectives for increased revenue and earnings, positive cash flow and stronger liquidity--all of which we exceeded.”

Bren attributed the company’s improved earnings to “a strategic decision made last year to reduce our activities with builders and others hard hit by the recession . . . the timely sale of residential and commercial ground leases, strong demand for the moderately priced condominiums we decided to put on the market . . . and favorable institutional land sales.”

The Irvine Co. reduced overhead during its recent fiscal year by laying off about 75 employees.

“Relying on outside businesses to help us accomplish our long-term goals . . . has enabled us to scale back quickly and efficiently,” Bren said in the memo.

Beyond claiming that earnings increased from 1991, the memo was not specific about profits or losses. A private company, the developer is not required to publicly report quarterly earnings.