Beazer Homes has come out with their 4^th quarter numbers and it was pretty ugly. The slowdown in the economy has pummeled the homebuilder.

After reading this on the Wall Street Journal, you have to wonder how long Beazer can survive. They lost nearly half a billion dollars in the quarter and saw revenue decrease 35%.

Beazer builds a good home, but they have to have customers. The major builders all placed big bets at the top of the market and now have the bookies wanting their money. And we all know, if you don’t got the money when Guido comes calling, things do not turn out well for you.

Beazer Homes USA Inc.’s fiscal fourth-quarter loss widened as it took a $398.6 million write-down of deferred tax assets that could have been used to offset future profits, as the company said the housing market’s woes have worsened the past two months.

Chief Executive Ian McCarthy said conditions in the economy and housing market came under greater pressure during the quarter and have continued to deteriorate this quarter as demand keeps falling.

For the period ended Sept. 30, the home builder reported a net loss of $473.9 million, or $12.29 a share, compared with a prior-year net loss of $155.2 million, or $4.03 a share. The latest results include $463.4 million in charges and write-downs. Revenue decreased 35% to $712.6 million.

Last month, the company reported that home closings totaled 2,441, down 38% from a year earlier. New home orders rose 10% to 1,083 as the cancellation rate fell to 45% from 68%. Homebuilding revenue slumped 45% on the declining home closings and a 9.9% fall in average selling price.  WSJ.com.

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