Standard Pacific Corp

Irvine-based home builder Standard Pacific Corp. said it signed a letter of intent to buy Bakersfield-based builder Advantage Homes. If completed, the acquisition would be Standard Pacific's second purchase of a Bakersfield builder this year. In March, the company acquired Probuilt Homes' local operations. Terms of the Advantage deal were not disclosed. Standard Pacific is following other large builders into the Central Valley.

Standard Pacific Corp., an Irvine-based home builder whose operating profit rose more than 50% last year, awarded its top executive $12.5 million in compensation in 2004, a 50% increase, according to a government filing Wednesday. Chairman and Chief Executive Stephen Scarborough earned an $11.5-million bonus on top of a salary of $956,000, according to the company's proxy filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. That was considerably higher than the $8.

Irvine-based home builder Standard Pacific Corp. raised its guidance for 2005 after reporting that its earnings in the fourth quarter rose 74% on higher margins. The Irvine company reported net income of $139 million, or $4.01 a share, compared with $79 million, or $2.33, a year earlier. Revenue rose 46% to a record $1.2 billion. The builder also reported a record number of new-home orders for the period ended Dec. 31 of 2,486. Standard Pacific now expects to earn $10.

Home builder Standard Pacific Corp. said Thursday that its third-quarter profit surged 29% as it delivered more houses at higher prices in California and Florida. While the Golden State remains one of the Irvine-based company's top markets, Chief Executive Stephen Scarborough told analysts that next year -- for the first time in the firm's 38-year history -- "we expect to deliver more homes in a state other than California."

Standard Pacific Corp. wants to build more homes away from home. The Irvine-based company said Tuesday that it acquired Kemmerly Homes of Tucson as it looked to further diversify operations and broaden its presence in the sizzling Arizona housing market. Terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Privately held Kemmerly controlled 1,100 buildable lots as of July 31 -- all in Tucson, where it is based -- and expects to sell 180 homes bringing revenue of $47.

Strong demand for its houses in California and other hot real estate markets helped boost Standard Pacific Corp.'s quarterly profit 43%, but the Irvine home builder's stock fell after it reported that new-home orders were down 25% so far in July. The company blamed the slide in orders on low supplies of houses available for sale; soaring prices, particularly in Orange County; and a tough comparison to last July, when orders soared 88% from the previous year.

K-Swiss Inc., an athletic-shoe maker that split its shares and doubled its dividend in December, cut its 2004 profit and sales forecasts after orders from Foot Locker Inc. dropped. Its shares fell 21%. K-Swiss expects to earn $1.40 to $1.50 a share this year, down from its earlier forecast of $1.50 to $1.65, on sales of $460 million to $480 million. The company reported net income of $1.32 a share on sales of $429.2 million in 2003. Shares of Westlake Village-based K-Swiss fell $5.06 to $19.

Standard Pacific Corp. said Monday that third-quarter profit more than doubled as booming housing markets in California and Florida propelled the company to record results. The Irvine-based home builder said profit surged to $57.9 million, or $1.72 a share, from $22.6 million, or 68 cents, a year earlier. "As long as order numbers stay strong, and they have been, the outlook beyond that is positive too," Chief Financial Officer Andrew Parnes said.

Irvine-based home builder Standard Pacific Corp. said Friday that profit surged 62% in the second quarter, helped by its recent expansion into the Southeast and the continued heavy demand in California. The increase was far sharper than expected. "We're selling virtually everything we build" in California, said Andrew H. Parnes, a senior vice president at Standard Pacific, the nation's 12th-largest home builder as ranked by Professional Builder magazine.