Dallas, TX, April 28--Centex Corp. said fourth-quarter profit surged 23 percent, driven by a greater number of home closings and higher average selling prices.
Centex, which operates in the United States and Britain and also offers financial and construction services, reported earnings of $369.7 million, or $2.75 per share, up from $300.1 million, or $2.30 per share, in the prior-year period.
Wall Street had projected earnings of $2.50 per share, the average forecast of 14 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.
Revenue climbed 25 percent to $3.99 billion from $3.19 billion a year ago.
Operating earnings from Centex's core domestic home building business surged 49 percent to $525 million on revenue of $3.09 billion.
Centex said new home orders in the quarter rose 9 percent to 11,214 homes. The backlog of homes sold but not delivered at the end of March stood at 18,589 units, 21 percent higher than a year ago. The dollar value of its backlog surged 40 percent to more than $5.94 billion, Centex said.
For the full fiscal year, Centex reported earnings of $1.01 billion, or $7.64 per share, up from 2004 earnings of $827.7 million, or $6.40 per share. Revenue for the year rose 24 percent to $12.86 billion.
Looking ahead, Centex backed its 2006 earnings forecast of $8.75 to $9.25 per share. Wall Street's current average estimate is $7.38 per share, according to Thomson Financial.
Centex shares rose 78 cents to close at $60.78 on the New York Stock Exchange, then fell 18 cents to $60.60 in recent after-hours trading.
