Stewart Information Services 3Q loss widens

HOUSTON - Shares of Stewart Information Services Corp tumbled Wednesday after the provider of title insurance and real estate information reported its third-quarter loss more than doubled year-over-year.

Stewart Information Services shares fell $2.08, or nearly 16 percent, to $11.12 in morning trading, earlier hitting a nine-year low of $11.01.

Losses for the quarter ended Sept. 30 swelled to $30 million, or $1.66 per share, from $14.3 million, or 79 cents per share, during the same quarter last year.

The company's losses widened as credit and housing markets remained mired in a downturn, which led to a 21 percent decline in revenue. Revenue totaled $395.2 million during the quarter, down from $501.9 million during the third quarter in 2007.

Title insurance revenue fell to $384.9 million during the quarter, from $469.8 million, during the year-ago period.

Third-quarter results also included charges that reduced earnings by 20 cents per share. Those charges included a $10.5 million buildup of loss reserves to cover large title claims, an impairment charge of $2.6 million relating to equity securities held for investment and office closure costs of $2.5 million.

As the company deals with the downturn in the housing market, it closed 40 branch and office locations and cut 470 jobs during the third quarter. It now has cut 2,900 jobs, or 29.3 percent of its work force since the beginning of 2007.

Hurricane Ike also adversely affected revenue during the quarter. The hurricane led to postponement of transactions by customers affected by the hurricane, the company said in a statement.

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