Fort Worth, July 21--D.R. Horton Inc. reported third quarter earnings that rose 48 percent, with sales of nearly 15,000 homes setting an industry record.
The company reported earning of $371.7 million, or $1.17 per share, up from $251.3 million, or $0.80 per share in the year-earlier quarter.
Analysts expected the company to earn $1.10 per share.
Sales during the quarter rose 21 percent to $3.31 billion.
Sales order backlog rose 36 percent to a record $7.0 billion.
The backlog prompted the company to raise its forecast for earnings for the year ended Sept. 30 to $4.35 to $4.40 per share, a 41 percent to 42 percent increase over the 2004 fiscal year.
Horton ended the quarter with a backlog of 23,916 homes awaiting construction.
Earlier in July, Horton said new orders in the quarter rose 20 percent as the company saw double-digit increases in all its regional markets. The number of new orders for homes rose to 14,980 from 12,444 while the value of the orders rose 28.6 percent to $4.13 billion from $3.22 billion.
