Beazer Homes USA said Tuesday it posted a fourth-quarter profit despite a plunge in revenue, thanks to a large gain on the prepayment of debt.
The Atlanta homebuilder said it saw "some moderation" in weak market trends, and the company's stock rose nearly 7 percent in premarket trading.
Beazer also said that despite low interest rates and a federal tax credit for first-time buyers, factors such as high unemployment and rising foreclosures make it difficult to predict when the housing market will recover.
Net income for the period ended Sept. 30 totaled $33.8 million, or 84 cents per share. That compares with a loss of $473.9 million, or $12.29 per share, a year earlier. Excluding discontinued operations, earnings amounted to 87 cents per share.
The latest quarter includes pretax gains totaling $89.3 million on the early extinguishment of debt.
Revenue fell 42 percent to $376.3 million from $649.8 million.
On average, analysts expected a loss of $1.24 per share on revenue of $338.3 million, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
New home orders rose 2.4 percent from a year earlier, while the cancellation rate improved to 34.7 percent from 46.3 percent.
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