Standard Pacific swings to profit thanks to tax break

Home builder Standard Pacific Corp. posted earnings of $82.7 million, or 31 cents a share, for the last three months of 2009, the Irvine company said Wednesday.

In the same period the previous year, the company had a loss of $397.8 million, or $1.65 a share. The return to profitability was largely because of a $94.1-million tax break, with the company benefiting from federal tax laws that took effect in November.

The residential housing market remained challenging in the quarter, however, and the company’s revenue dropped 10% to $339.8 million from $376.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Chief Executive Ken Campbell said the company was “pleased” with the results.

“Notwithstanding the challenging economic and housing market conditions that exist, we look ahead to 2010 with the goals of returning to profitability and rebuilding our land portfolio,” he said.

The company released its earnings after the close of the trading day. Shares had fallen 2 cents, to $4.17, Wednesday after gaining ground Tuesday as investors anticipated positive results.

There was little change in the share price in after-hours trading.

The company’s huge tax benefit was mostly the result of a new law that allows home builders to carry losses related to land sales from two to five years.

The building industry is still in rocky territory, where new homes are competing with steeply discounted foreclosures and other troubled properties.

Standard Pacific also reported its results for all of 2009. Its revenue for the year was $1.17 billion versus $1.54 billion in 2008, a drop of 24.1%. The company posted a net loss of $13.8 million, or 6 cents a share, for 2009, compared with a net loss of $1.23 billion, or $9.14, for 2008.

alejandro.lazo @latimes.com