Shares in Mexican homebuilder Urbi sink after S&P downgrade

MEXICO CITY, March 4 (Reuters) - Shares in Mexican homebuilder Urbi fell 7.26 percent on Monday after ratings agency Standard & Poor's downgraded the company's rating three notches.

The rating agency cited poor fourth-quarter results and weak cashflow as the reason for its downgrade to CCC from B.

Urbi reported a 63 percent decline in fourth-quarter profit, hurt by weak sales and higher financing costs.

Mexico's government is seeking to encourage more high-rise or 'vertical' developments while Urbi and other Mexican homebuilders hold plots of land outside urban areas that are intended for so-called 'horizontal' developments.

The S&P downgrade follows a multiple-notch downgrade by Fitch Ratings last week, also to CCC or junk bond status.

Urbi shares, down 51 percent since the start of the year, closed at 3.96 pesos.

(Reporting by Gabriela Lopez and Elinor Comlay)