Poor Home Sales Spur Sharp Loss at Golden West

Declining land values in Palm Springs and lackluster mobile homes sales caused Golden West Homes of Santa Ana to lose $2 million in its final quarter and $9.3 million for its entire 1985 fiscal year, the company announced Tuesday.

The loss for the year ended May 25 surpassed earlier public estimates of $8.2 million.

Lawrence E. Wessel, vice president and chief financial officer, said the loss was caused largely by the company’s decision to discontinue its 13 retail mobile home sales centers in the western United States and to write down the value of property in a subdivision project in Palm Springs.

Wessel said the company will continue to make mobile homes but will sell them through distributors. He also said the company will complete its Golden Sun Estates, a 177-unit manufactured housing project in Palm Springs, despite the declining land values in the subdivision.

For the fiscal fourth quarter, the company lost $2 million, its seventh consecutive quarterly loss. In the year-ago period, the loss was $199,000. Revenues for the quarter fell 19%, to $14.5 million from $17.9 million last year.

For the full year, the $9.3-million loss was sharply higher than the $691,000 lost a year earlier. Sales were $58.7 million, 11% below last year’s $66.2 million.