Fort Worth, TX, April 19--D.R. Horton, the largest U.S. home builder, on Tuesday reported its quarterly profit rose 56 percent, helped by surging home sales, and raised its full-year earnings outlook.
For the fiscal second quarter ended on March 31, the company earned $294 million, or 92 cents per share, compared with $188.6 million, or 60 cents per share, a year earlier.
The average forecast of analysts polled by Reuters Estimates was 81 cents per share.
D.R. Horton booked quarterly revenue of $2.9 billion, up 23 percent. Analysts expected an average of $2.87 billion.
Closings of home sales rose 8 percent to 10,601 homes during the quarter. Gross profit margins on home sales reached 24.8 percent, up 2.5 percentage points.
The company ended the quarter with a backlog of 21,205 homes contracted for and awaiting construction. The value of the backlog rose 33 percent to $6.2 billion.
Horton has been helped by the U.S. housing market, which has remained resilient as rates on 30-year mortgages have stayed relatively low despite a rise in short-term interest rates after recent Federal Reserve rate hikes.
Looking forward, the home builder said it expected third-quarter earnings per share of between 98 cents and $1.02, in line with Wall Street's forecast of $1.00, according to Reuters Estimates.
It raised its forecast for full-year earnings per share to a range of $3.95 to $4.00, above analysts' average estimate of $3.83. The company said it expects to close on 50,000 homes and book $13 billion in revenue, about the same as analysts predict.
The company had previously forecast full-year profit of $3.56 to $3.68 a share, reflecting a 4-for-3 stock split effected last month.
