D.R. Horton Inc. said Friday its loss in its fiscal fourth quarter narrowed despite a plunge in revenue as the homebuilder wrote down fewer costs.

The loss for the quarter ended in September was $231.9 million, or 73 cents per share, compared with a loss of $799.9 million, or $2.53 per share, a year earlier.

Inventory writedown costs and other expenses totaled $192.6 million pretax in the latest quarter, versus $1.1 billion in 2008.

Revenue fell 42 percent to $1.01 billion from $1.75 billion.

On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast a quarterly loss of 30 cents per share on revenue of $1.11 billion.

D.R. Horton says sales orders during the quarter rose 26 percent from last year, but more foreclosures, high inventories and rising unemployment remain a challenge for the industry.

The Fort Worth-based company said its net sales orders and backlog both rose during the quarter. Homes closed totaled 4,810, compared with 6,961 homes closed in the same quarter of fiscal 2008.