Toll Brothers Earnings Slide 16% On Impairment, Warranty Charges

House builder Toll Brothers Inc. on Tuesday said fiscal fourth-quarter profit slid 16%, with profit hit by inventory- and warranty charges. Net income fell to $114.4 million, or 67 cents a share, from $147.2 million, or 80 cents a share, in the year-ago period. Revenue rose to $1.86 billion from $1.44 billion last year. Toll Brothers said the drop in earnings was due to $2.5 million of inventory impairments and a $121.2 million warranty charge primarily related to older stucco homes. Adjusting for those charges, profit came in at $291.8 million, compared to $236.7 million in the fourth quarter last year. Shares of the house builder were unchanged in premarket trade.