LandAmerica Financial Group Inc., a provider of real estate transaction services, reported net income losses for 2006 earlier this week. The company said an overall slowing down in the real estate housing market attributed to its decline in annual revenue. LandAmerica’s net income dropped from $165.6 million in 2005 to $98.8 million in 2006. Meanwhile, the company’s net income earnings for the fourth quarter of 2006 dropped some 42 percent to $34.3 million.

In a press release announcing LandAmerica’s year-end results, the company said its decline in consolidated operating revenue during the fourth quarter was “offset, in part, by additional revenue as the result of the company’s merger with Capital Title Group, Inc.”
“I am pleased to report record operating revenue for LandAmerica in 2006, despite a challenging residential housing market,” said Theodore L. Chandler Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of LandAmerica. “We attribute this growth to the strength of our commercial operations and improved market share.”