KB Home 2nd-quarter loss narrows

LOS ANGELES (AP) - KB Home says its fiscal second quarter loss narrowed but results missed expectations and net orders fell as the federal homeowner tax credit ended.

Net orders fell 23 perent from a year ago but were up from the fiscal first quarter.

CEO Jeffrey Mezger says the sequential improvement "bodes well for our ability to generate future revenue growth."

Low mortgage rates and the federal homeowner tax credit have helped the home market, but the credit ended in April.

The homebuilder says its net loss was $30.7 million, or 40 cents per share, for the three months ended May 31. That compares to a loss of $83.6 million, or $1.03 per share, a year ago.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a smaller loss of 30 cents a share

Revenue fell 3 percent to $374.1 million.