Home builder posts wider loss

D.R. Horton Inc., the largest U.S. home builder, reported a sixth straight loss in its fiscal fourth quarter as record foreclosures and tighter lending deepened the housing slump. But its shares rose $1.90, or 38%, to $6.90 after the Federal Reserve took steps to unfreeze credit for home buyers.

The company’s loss widened to $799.9 million, or $2.53 a share, in the quarter ended Sept. 30 from $50.1 million, or 16 cents, a year earlier, Fort Worth-based Horton said. Analysts had forecast a loss of $2.04 a share, according to the average estimate in a Bloomberg survey.

Horton’s home-building revenue fell to $1.75 billion from $3.12 billion, the company said. Homes sold in the quarter fell 41% to 6,961.