DOW JONES NEWSWIRES Toll Brothers Inc. (TOL) swung to a fiscal fourth-quarter profit, its second consecutive quarter in the black, as the luxury homebuilder was helped by a tax benefit and fewer write-downs while revenue fell less than expected. Home builders' results in recent quarters have been boosted by the rush of buyers to get the first-time home buyer tax credit before it ended this spring. Toll Brothers posted a surprise fiscal third-quarter profit in August, its first quarter in the black in nearly three years. Still, orders have dropped sharply for builders across the board since the credit's expiration. "Based on the very low housing production over the past few years, we believe that pent-up demand is building and will be released once the employment and economic picture improves and people regain confidence," said Chairman Robert Toll said on Thursday. For the quarter ended Oct. 31, Toll Brothers posted a profit of $50.5 million, or 30 cents a share, from a year-earlier loss of $111.4 million, or 68 cents. The most-recent quarter included a $59.9 million tax benefit, $27 million in write-downs and $500,000 of charges related to debt retirement. The year-earlier quarter included a $4.7 million tax expense, $85.5 million in write-downs and $11.6 million of charges related to debt retirement. Revenue fell 17% to $402.6 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast a loss of 8 cents on $394 million in revenue. Gross margin surged to 13.9% from 0.8% and rose to 20.6% from 18.4% excluding write-downs. The company's home deliveries fell 19% to 700 units. Net signed contracts fell 27% on both a dollars and units basis. The cancellation rate was 6.6%, compared with 15.6% a year earlier and 6.2% in the prior quarter. Shares closed Wednesday at $18.46 and were inactive premarket.The stock has fallen 1.9% this year. -By Nathan Becker, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2855; nathan.becker@dowjones.com;
