NEWHALL LAND EARNINGS FLAT; DESPITE INCREASE FOR 1997, DELAYS IN RESIDENTIAL ESCROWS HURT QUARTERLY FIGURES.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Daily News Staff Writer Fourth-quarter earnings plunged 52 percent from year-ago levels at The Newhall Land and Farming Company The Newhall Land and Farming Company is a land management company based in Valencia, California, United States. The company is responsible for the master community planning of Valencia, as well as the management of farm land elsewhere in the state. , and the real estate company said on Thursday that it expects ``minimal if any'' profit during 1998's first three months. The Valencia-based company attributed the drop and flat first-quarter outlook to delays in closing residential escrows. ``Due to the timing of escrow escrow Instrument, such as a deed, money, or property, that constitutes evidence of obligations between two or more parties and is held by a third party. It is delivered by the third party only upon fulfillment of some condition. closings, earnings are expected to be heavily weighted toward the second half of the year,'' Thomas Lee Thomas Lee may refer to:
For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, Newhall said its net income was $4.3 million, or 12 cents per partnership unit, on revenues of $55.7 million. This compares with 1996 net income of $9 million, or 26 cents per unit, on revenues of $76.8 million. Newhall Land is a limited partnership company, so its stock is traded in units. On a yearly basis, the company's earnings rose. During 1997, Newhall Land earned $44.5 million, or $1.28 per unit, on revenue of $207.7 million. That compares to net income of $41.9 million, or $1.18 per unit, on revenue of $220.2 million in 1996. Newhall Land is the developer of the master-planned communities of Valencia and Newhall Ranch ranch, large farm devoted chiefly to raising and breeding cattle, horses, sheep, and goats. The cattle ranch was introduced from Latin America to Texas and the plains of the W United States and Canada. on its 37,000 acres of land in the Santa Clarita Valley The Santa Clarita Valley is the valley of the Santa Clara River in Southern California. It stretches through Los Angeles County and Ventura County. Its main population center is the city of Santa Clarita. The valley was part of the 48,612-acre (19,672. and Ventura County. The company readies land for homes and then sells the lots to home builders and commercial developers. It also does commercial and industrial development. ``We have never been a quarter-to-quarter company, so we are very excited about 1998 and are well-positioned to take advantage of the economic improvement occurring in the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. area,'' said Marlee Lauffer, Newhall Land's spokeswoman. The company's shares closed Thursday at 28 15/16, down 1 1/16. Analyst James S. McDonald at Westcountry Financial in Somis rates the company as a strong performer despite the weak fourth quarter. ``They're on the front end of a real estate market turnaround, so it's probably better to be buying land in California than stock on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. ,'' McDonald said. |
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