Newhall Land Predicts ‘Another Difficult Year’

Newhall Land & Farming Co. said it expects “another difficult year” during 1993 “because of the lingering recession in California.”

“Earnings for each of the first two quarters will be minimal,” said Thomas L. Lee, chairman of Newhall, a real estate and agricultural concern whose main project is the master-planned community of Valencia in Santa Clarita.

“We are hopeful that major land sales in the second half of 1993 will strengthen our earnings,” Lee said in a statement.

He also said the recent storms destroyed 20 acres of lemon trees and caused more than $1 million damage to the Newhall Ranch, a 37,500-acre area surrounding Valencia that the company owns.

The loss will affect Newhall’s first-quarter earnings, Lee said, but he provided no specifics.

On a brighter note, Lee said the master plan and zoning for its proposed 3,200-acre community project in Scottsdale, Ariz., have been approved by local civic leaders.

The approved plan covers about 4,475 houses, recreation centers, two schools, a park and 70 acres of commercial development.

Initial sales of the project’s housing lots are expected in late 1994 or early 1995, he said.