Hyphen Solutions has appointed Ken Pinto, a former supply chain executive for Toll Bros. and other national home builders, as its VP supply chain. Pinto brings 21 years of supply chain management expertise to Hyphen's real estate and software management team. He most recently served as the director of supply chain at Toll Bros. and has held similar positions at Standard Pacific and Pulte Homes. Pinto also heads the Supply Chain Benchmark Group, which is a coalition of the purchasing leaders of some of the largest home builders in the United States.

The Horsham, Pa.-based luxury homebuilder Toll Brothers returned to a profit in the second quarter amid signs of strengthening home-building market.

The company posted a profit of $16.9 million in the quarter, compared to a loss of $20.8 million in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 17% to $373.7 million.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers has announced the acquisition of CamWest Development, one of the largest privately held home-building companies in the Pacific Northwest. The purchase price, which was not disclosed, was paid in cash.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers has partnered with EchoFirst, a solar energy provider, to build new communities in Arizona that provide a complete solar energy system for water, heating and cooling. EchoFirst supplements conventional solar electric PV panels with solar thermal technology that generates electricity for hot water, as well as thermal energy for heating and cooling the home. This enables Toll Brothers to offer homes that use 70% to 80% less energy than a standard code-built home, according to the announcement.

Home-building businesses may be at risk for consolidation if home sales don’t pick up soon, according to an analysis by the Wall Street Journal.

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers reported mixed results for its third fiscal quarter, with profits up but revenues down as cancellations increased and orders for new homes slowed.

Net earnings for the third quarter, which ended July 31, were $42.1 million, a 54% increase, but they included a one-time tax benefit of $38.2 million. This compares with net income of $27.3 million in the same period a year ago, which included a $26.5 million tax benefit. 

When luxury home builder Toll Brothers posted its second-quarter earnings, executive chairman Robert Toll questioned the accuracy of the media's reporting on home prices. 

Luxury home builder Toll Brothers reported a net loss of $20.8 million for its second fiscal quarter, which ended April 30, compared with losses of $40.4 million in the same quarter in 2010.