Standard Pacific’s Earnings Off 77% as Housing Slumps

COSTA MESA —  Standard Pacific Corp., a major Southern California home builder, said Wednesday that its 1991 earnings fell 77% to $11 million because of a crippling slowdown in housing sales.

The Costa Mesa company reported profits of $10.95 million on revenue of $299 million for the year compared to a $48.4-million profit on revenue of $383 million in 1990.

Standard Pacific earnings would have been even less except for a strong performance by its savings and loan, Standard Pacific Savings in Newport Beach. The thrift makes mortgage loans to buyers of Standard homes and those built by other developers.

For the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, the company’s earnings fell 59% to $1.47 million from $3.6 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue was down 4% to $79.8 million from $83 million.

Standard Pacific set aside $3 million during the fourth quarter to pay for increased sales incentives. Quarterly and yearly profit margins, which were not disclosed, fell as a result of those incentives plus additional marketing costs.

Chairman Arthur E. Svendsen said in a statement that he “was pleased that only a few of the company’s projects needed specific reserves for sales incentives at this time.”

Shareholders are expected to receive dividends later this year ranging in value from 10% to 20% of after-tax earnings, the company said.

Standard Pacific builds medium-priced, single-family homes throughout California and in Houston and Dallas. Besides Standard Pacific Savings, its other primary subsidiary is a Santa Ana office furniture manufacturer known as Panel Concepts Inc.

Standard Pacific’s stock fell 37.5 cents Wednesday to close at $12 on the New York Stock Exchange in heavy trading.