Arlington, TX, November 10-- Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. said Wednesday that fourth-quarter net income surged 52 percent on improved results in all its markets.
Net income for the fourth quarter rose to $349.6 million, or $1.47 per share, from $230.7 million, or 98 cents per share, a year ago. Consolidated revenue for the quarter increased 23 percent to $3.46 billion from $2.81 billion a year earlier.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call were expecting earnings of $1.23 per share on revenue of $3.35 billion.
For the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, net income increased 56 percent to $975.1 million, or $4.11 per share, from $626 million, or $2.73 per diluted share. Consolidated revenue for the year rose 24 percent to $10.8 billion, from $8.7 billion in fiscal 2003.
D.R. Horton said net sales orders for the fourth quarter were $2.8 billion, or 11,105 homes, an increase of 17 percent from $2.4 billion, or 10,114 homes, in the year-ago quarter. Net sales orders for fiscal year 2004 increased 24 percent to $11.4 billion, 45,263 homes, compared to $9.2 billion, or 38,725 homes, for fiscal 2003.
The company expects to report earnings per share for its fiscal first quarter ending Dec. 31, in the range of 85 cents to 90 cents per share. The company expects earnings per share for fiscal year 2005 to be in the range of $4.50 to $4.70 per share. In fiscal year 2005, D.R. Horton said it expects to close more than 50,000 homes and generate revenues in excess of $12 billion.
Analysts are looking for the company to report earnings of 89 cents per share for the first quarter, and net income of $4.21 per share on revenue of $12.2 billion.
