D.R. Horton Swings To Profit on Tax Benefit

Fort Worth, TX, Feb. 2, 2010--Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc. said it swung to a quarterly profit helped by a tax gain and higher revenue.

The company reported net income of $192 million, or 56 cents a share, in the fiscal first-quarter, compared with a net loss of $62.6 million, or 20 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

The results included a tax benefit of $149.2 million.

Home-building revenue rose 23% from the year-ago quarter to $1.1 billion.

"Our net sales orders also showed significant improvement from the year-ago quarter, increasing 45%," said Chairman Donald Horton in the earnings release.
"Market conditions in the home-building industry are still challenging, characterized by rising foreclosures, high inventory levels of available homes, increasing unemployment, tightening FHA lending standards and weak consumer confidence," Horton said.