D.R. Horton loss deeper than analysts' forecasts

Horton took a third fiscal quarter net loss of $142.3 million, or 45 cents per diluted share, a less-steep drop than the year earlier's $399.3 million net loss, which was a loss of $1.26 per share.

The results trailed analysts' average forecast of 23 cents per share, according to Reuters Estimates.

Revenue fell 36 percent to $914.1 million.

"Market conditions in the homebuilding industry are still challenging, characterized by rising foreclosures, high inventory levels of available homes, increasing unemployment, tight credit for homebuyers and weak consumer confidence," Chairman Donald Horton said in a statement.

Rivals Pulte Homes Inc and Centex Corp , whose merger is set to displace Horton as the nation's largest homebuilder, reported their quarterly results a day earlier.

No. 2 Pulte recorded a deeper-than-expected loss, while No. 3 Centex swung to a profit after a tax gain.

Fort Worth, Texas-based Horton has been writing down the value of the land it holds to build on as it and major rivals suffer through a downturn now in its third year. It took $110.8 million in charges to that effect during the quarter.

The company said it generated $124.1 million in cash during the quarter, raising its total unrestricted cash balance to $1.97 billion. Its cancellation rate stood at 26 percent in the quarter.

The bursting of the housing bubble set the stage for the current brutal U.S. recession.

D.R. Horton shares have risen some 64 percent so far this year, greatly outpacing the 26 percent rise of the Dow Jones U.S. home construction index .

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Derek Caney and Maureen Bavdek)