LandAmerica Financial Group Tuesday reported adjusted net income for the first quarter of $20 million, or $1.14 per share, compared with $17.7 million, or $0.99 per share, in the prior-year quarter.
The company’s reported net income for the quarter was $13.7 million, or $0.78 per share, in comparison with $33.2 million, or $1.85 per share in the same quarter last year.
Net income for first-quarter 2006 included an asset write-off of $9.7 million, or $6.3 million after taxes, primarily related to the sale of the company’s headquarters building.
Total revenues for the first quarter were $932.9 million compared with $835.6 million in the year ago quarter.
“I am pleased that we grew our operating revenue in first quarter 2006 over first quarter 2005,” said the company’s CEO, Theodore Chancler, Jr., in a statement. “We continue to look for opportunities to make reductions in our cost structure and deliver a greater amount of increased revenue to the bottom line.”
Operating revenue for the company’s title operations segment for first quarter 2006 was $819.0 million, an increase of $103.6 million, or 14.5 percent, over first quarter 2005.
In March of this year, LandAmerica agreed to buy Capital Title Group for $251 million in cash and stock to diversify its business mix and expand in title insurance.
Founded in 1981, Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Capital Title operates mainly in Arizona, California and Nevada. About 17 percent of its business relates to the providing of settlement services to mortgage lenders. The company has about 140 offices and more than 2,500 employees.
The company’s stock was trading at $ 67.26 a share today, down $1.92 a share.
