Taylor Wimpey says market is stabilising despite £640m loss

  UK housebuilder Taylor Wimpey recorded a pretax loss of £640m for 2009 after suffering further falls in the value of its portfolio.   The company was hit by £604m of writedowns during the year to 31 December, resulting in the loss which was narrower than the previous year’s loss of £1.84bn.   Despite the writedowns, Taylor Wimpey said it had seen stabilisation in the UK and North American housing markets through 2009, having lowered its net debt to £751m from £1.53bn at the end of 2008.   It also said UK build costs had reduced by 4.4% in the second half of 2009, with further progress expected in 2010.   Pete Redfern, group chief executive, said: “Trading conditions for our main businesses stabilised through 2009 and we were pleased to return to operating profit in both the UK and North America in the second half of the year.   “Whilst we remain cautious, we are continuing to see slowly improving conditions across our main markets.    “Our active cost reduction, high quality land bank and strong order book position us well to increase profitability as markets recover.”   james.buckley@estatesgazette.com