Fort Worth, TX, November 14, 2006--D.R. Horton, the largest U.S. home builder, on Tuesday said quarterly profit fell 51 percent as orders declined, but results topped forecasts.
The company joined Toll Brothers Inc., Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. and other rivals in reporting weaker earnings as deteriorating consumer confidence and falling home prices cast a pall over the once-thriving homebuilding sector.
Net income for D.R. Horton's fiscal fourth quarter ended Sept. 30 dropped to $277.7 million, or 88 cents per share, from $563.8 million, or $1.77, a year earlier.
Analysts polled by Reuters Estimates on average forecast profit of 69 cents per share.
Net sales orders for new homes fell 25 percent to 10,430 homes from 13,950, while the dollar amount of these orders fell 33 percent to $2.53 billion from $3.75 billion.
Homes closed fell 7 percent to 17,261 homes, while the backlog of homes under contract fell 6 percent to 18,125 homes.
Last week, Toll, a luxury homebuilder, projected a ten percent drop in quarterly homebuilding revenue, and warned of softness in once-booming Northern California and Florida markets.
Smaller luxury builder Hovnanian projected a fourth-quarter net loss, hurt by order cancellations, while Beazer Homes USA Inc. (BZH.N: Quote, Profile, Research), which builds many homes for first-time buyers, said quarterly profit fell 44 percent, and said fiscal 2007 earnings will fall short of analysts' expectations.
