Miami, FL, December 16-- Lennar Corp., one of the nation's largest homebuilders, posted a 34 percent jump in profit for its fourth quarter as demand for new homes remained strong.
The company also raised its earnings estimate for the current fiscal year.
For the fourth quarter ended Nov. 30, Lennar had net income of $379.7 million, or $2.29 a share, compared with $283.2 million, or $1.69 a share, a year earlier.
Analysts had on average expected earnings of $2.21 a share, according to Thomson First Call.
Revenue rose 21 percent to $3.55 billion from $2.94 billion.
Home building, including sales of homes and land, generated revenue of $3.41 billion, up 22 percent from a year earlier, the company said.
Home sales rose 26 percent to $3.36 billion on a 12 percent increase in the number of homes delivered and a 13 percent rise in their average sales price. Lennar delivered 11,716 new homes in the quarter with an average sales price of $287,000.
Lennar's orders, which reflect revenue two or three quarters down the line when a home sale closes, rose only 5 percent in the quarter even though the company had 10 percent more communities -- or subdivisions -- open. By contrast, Toll's orders were up 29 percent.
For the full fiscal year, net income rose 26 percent to $945.6 million, or $5.70 a share, from $751.4 million, or $4.65 a share, in fiscal 2003.
Full-year revenue climbed 18 percent to $10.5 billion from $8.91 billion.
Lennar raised its goal for fiscal 2005 earnings to $6.90 a share from its previous target of $6.60 a share. It cited its order backlog of $5.06 billion for the improved view
