H&R Block Inc., the largest U.S. income tax preparer, said on Tuesday that it expects to delay filing its quarterly results with regulators after turmoil in the subprime mortgage market forced it to write down assets at its Option One Mortgage Corp. unit.
The write-down will affect cash flows, the balance sheet and reported earnings, and the company expects to file the results by March 19.
H&R Block said in a regulatory filing it had to write down $29 million of assets, before taxes, at its Option One unit.
Rising defaults in the subprime sector are forcing H&R Block to reevaluate mortgages it plans to sell to investors.
H&R Block is trying to sell Option One, its subprime mortgage lending unit.
The company previously recorded a $44.7 million, or 14 cents per share, loss for its fiscal third quarter ending January 31.