Homebuilder Centex posts quarterly loss

Houses are seen under construction in a file photo. Centex Corp., the fourth-largest U.S. home builder, on Monday reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss as it scrambled to deal with the real-estate slowdown by selling off land that was decreasing in value and exiting the sub-prime lending and commercial contracting businesses.

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Centex Corp. CTX.N, the fourth-largest U.S. home builder, on Monday reported a wider-than-expected quarterly loss as it scrambled to deal with the real-estate slowdown by selling off land that was decreasing in value and exiting the sub-prime lending and commercial contracting businesses.

For the fiscal fourth quarter ended March 31, Centex posted a loss from continuing operations of $22 million, or 18 cents a share, compared with its earlier forecast of break-even.

On average, analysts expected the Dallas, Texas-based company to report a loss of 3 cents a share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Centex said closings tumbled 14 percent during the quarter and revenue fell 11 percent to $3.67 billion. Analysts expected sales of $3.497 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.