March 14          Fri Mar 14, 2014 11:58am

(Reuters) – Brazilian homebuilder MRV Engenharia e Participacoes SA is comfortable with its current debt levels and will explore options for using its excess cash generation in the future, Chief Financial Officer Leonardo Correa said on Friday.

The company generated 162 million reais ($69 million) in cash in the fourth quarter, four times more than a year earlier, helping to lower net debt to the equivalent of 30.4 percent of equity.

Still, MRV’s profit fell 37.2 percent to 72 million reais in the quarter on an annual basis, far short of analysts’ estimates, partly due to a spike in cancellations and higher expenses.