Over the past year, MDC Holdings has gotten rid of at least 1,000 employees and reduced its land holdings by 40 percent.
The Denver-based parent of Richmond American Homes, which employs about 2,500 people nationwide, also said sales were down 46 percent to $365 million and orders dropped 42 percent to 1,228 compared with a year ago.
Despite reporting a $155.4 million loss in the third quarter, MDC chairman and chief executive Larry Mizel said he remains optimistic.
“We’re confident we can weather the downturn and emerge as a stronger and better company when the market rebounds,” Mizel told analysts during the company’s third-quarter conference call Thursday.
MDC’s loss, $3.40 a share, during the third quarter compared with earnings of $48.7 million, or $1.06 a share, during the same period a year ago. The company reported its earnings after market close Wednesday.
Shares of MDC closed down 61 cents at $40.20 Thursday. The company’s stock got a brief lift early in the day on news that new- home sales rose in September. The Commerce Department said new-home sales rose 4.8 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000 units.
Compared with other parts of the country, Colorado is still faring well and the company continues to look for land to buy here.
“Colorado has been difficult for a long time, but it hasn’t deteriorated as much and there are still pockets of good locations that make sense to buy,” said Paris “Gary” Reece, the company’s chief financial officer.
Mizel said opportunities to buy land will become more prevalent next year because most of it is held by private homebuilders.
“As the financial sources recognize the conditions of those builders, we will see land opportunities,” he said.
Margaret Jackson: 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com
