NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fidelity National Financial Inc (FNF.N), which controls one of the largest U.S. title insurers, said on Wednesday second-quarter profit tumbled 92 percent as the housing slump cut into home sales and refinancings.
Net income fell to $6.9 million, or 3 cents per share, from $84.8 million, or 38 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue fell 21 percent to $1.18 billion.
Analysts on average expected profit of 13 cents per share on revenue of $1.17 billion, according to Reuters Estimates.
Chairman William Foley called the operating environment "difficult" as order counts weakened throughout the quarter, a period he said is "normally seasonally strong."
Foley also said Fidelity National eliminated more than 1,600 jobs in the quarter, but that most of the cuts came in June, too late to benefit results.
The Jacksonville, Florida-based company also increased its reserve for credit losses.
Title insurance guarantees that a property owner has title to a property and can legally transfer that title. The nation's housing slump has resulted in lower demand for and lower prices on homes, cutting into title insurers' revenue.
Fidelity National said title orders that closed fell 25 percent in the quarter to 307,500, while the number opened declined 26 percent to 462,600. Title and escrow premiums and fees fell 23 percent to $1.04 billion.
The company's shares closed up 30 cents at $14.43 on Wednesday on the New York Stock Exchange. They have fallen 1 percent this year. Fidelity National released results after U.S. markets closed.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Andre Grenon)
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