Realogy's loss nearly doubles in 4Q on IPO costs

PARSIPPANY, N.J. -- Realogy Holdings Corp. said Thursday that its loss nearly doubled in the fourth quarter, as the real estate services provider booked hefty charges related to its initial public offering and other costs.

The company, which operates real estate brokerages under brands like Century 21, Coldwell Banker and Sotheby's International Realty, had its IPO in October.

Realogy's loss widened to $292 million in the three months ended Dec. 31. That compares with a loss of $154 million in the prior-year quarter. The company did not provide per-share amounts.

Excluding the impact of $400 million in non-cash IPO-related costs and $60 million in other one-time costs, Realogy's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization amounted to $167 million in the fourth quarter. That's up from $104 million a year earlier.

Revenue climbed 30 percent to $1.2 billion from the fourth quarter of 2011. Analysts polled by FactSet expected, on average, $1.02 billion in revenue.

The U.S. housing market appears to be on the path to recovery, with demand for homes helping to drive home prices higher. That's a welcome sight for Realogy, which makes money on home sales transactions and other real estate services.

For all of 2012 Realogy posted a loss of $543 million, or $14.41 per share, compared with a loss of $441 million, or $55.01 per share, the year before.

Full-year revenue grew to $4.67 billion from $4.09 billion.

Realogy priced 40 million shares at $27 apiece, and the stock soared more than 25 percent to $34.20 in its trading debut on Oct. 11.

Realogy shares fell 49 cents to $45.99 in afternoon trading on Thursday.

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