D.R. Horton posts loss after charges

NEW YORK (Reuters) - D.R. Horton Inc , the largest U.S. home builder, posted a quarterly loss that was narrower than expected on Thursday as it took big inventory charges and wrote off land option contracts.

The results included land impairment and write-off charges totaling $245.5 million.

"Market conditions remained challenging in our December quarter as inventory levels of both new and existing homes remained high while pricing remained very competitive," board Chairman Donald Horton said.

First-quarter home-building revenue fell 39 percent to $1.71 billion. The company closed on 6,549 homes in the quarter, down 36 percent from the year-ago quarter.

D.R. Horton generated more than $558 million in cash flow from operations during the quarter by selling off part of its inventory of unsold homes and reducing the mortgages it held for sale. It used part of the cash to pay off the outstanding balance on a revolving credit facility and to pay down other debt.

(Reporting by Christopher Kaufman and Ilaina Jonas; Editing by Mark Porter/Lisa Von Ahn)