Gross Profit

Ryland Group Inc. yesterday reported dramatically improved results for the third quarter, compared with a year ago, led by gains in homebuilding and decreases in its expenses.The Columbia-based homebuilder's nearly six-fold increase in net earnings in the quarter -- to $4.5 million -- marks the third consecutive quarter that it has posted better gross profit margins, a key gauge of a homebuilder's financial health. Revenues in the quarter ended Sept. 30 were flat, at $402.5 million, driven mainly by higher average closing prices for its homes.

Stung by heightened competition in its core mid-Atlantic market and an accounting change, the Ryland Group Inc. yesterday reported a net loss for 1995 of $2.6 million.The 31 cents per share loss, which Ryland had predicted in December because of the adoption of the accounting change, represents a stark contrast to the $24.5 million net income the Columbia-based company generated a year ago.Ryland was forced to take a $27 million, after-tax noncash charge in adopting Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)

County Council members put strings on their endorsement last night of County Executive Charles I. Ecker's plan to borrow $900,000 from the state and lend it this fall to a local manufacturing company turned down by a commercial lender."

The auto industry closed the books on a good year, but it would have been a banner one if manufacturers had only figured out how to produce a 2-year-old car with 25,000 miles on the odometer, selling for $12,000.Used cars -- they're the hottest thing in the industry.It is estimated that dealers across the country will sell twice as many secondhand cars this year as new models. And for the first time since the automobile replaced the horse and buggy, franchise new-car dealers are making more profit from the sale of used cars than new.According to the National Automobile Dealers Association, the average gross profit on a new-car sale is $1,229, or $21 less than from the sale of a used car. In 1993, the average dealer gross was $93 more from the sale of a new car compared to the sale of a used vehicle.

When selling land, buildings or other investment property, an effective way to defer and possibly reduce taxes is through the use of an installment sale.An installment sale provides for part or all of the sales price to be paid in a later year. Effectively, the seller is financing the buyer's purchase instead of having the buyer obtain a bank loan.Profits on installment sales are deferred until the seller receives payments under the installment loan. Using the installment sales method may spread the seller's gain over several years and may result in a lower total tax. By taking only a portion of the gain into income each year, you may avoid reaching a higher tax bracket.