Rain, Market Demand Take Toll on Builder J.M. Peters

Home builder J.M. Peters Co. Inc., hit in the final three months by record rainfall and demand for lower-priced homes, said Wednesday that its annual profit fell 27% to $3.6 million, or 24 cents a share.

The red ink for the year ended Feb. 28 was a drop from earnings of $4.9 million, or 34 cents a share, for its previous fiscal year. The previous year’s profit included an extraordinary gain of $4.3 million.

Annual revenue rose 57% to $143.1 million last year from $91.1 million the previous year. The company attributed the revenue gain to its acquisition of Clark Wilson Homes Inc. in Austin, Tex., the strong market in Las Vegas and higher closings in California.

The results included a onetime gain of $3.1 million from the resolution of project financing debt and a onetime charge of $1.3 million as the result of a previously announced settlement of litigation involving sales activities in 1989 and 1990.

For the fourth quarter, J.M. Peters earned $121,000, or 1 cent a share, compared with net income of $2.3 million, or 15 cents a share, for the previous year’s final three months. Quarterly revenue declined 25% to $31.2 million from $41.5 million.