Calabasas, CA Oct. 21--Ryland Group's third-quarter net income jumped 34%, as the market for new homes remains strong.
The homebuilder late Tuesday reported net income of $63.3 million, or $2.40 a share, compared with $47.4 million, or $1.70 a share, a year earlier. The mean estimate of analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call was for earnings of $2.14 a share.
Revenue rose 19% to $872.2 million from $732.7 million on an 11% increase in closings to 3,735 and a 7.2% rise in the average closing price to $224,000.
Backlog as of Sept. 30 was up 15% to 7,709 outstanding contracts, and new orders in the third quarter rose 5.3% to 3,748. The backlog value was $1.83 billion, up 26%.
Going forward, Ryland boosted its 2003 earnings target from at least $8 a share -- a forecast that was last raised in July -- to in excess of $8.35.
The First Call estimate is for earnings of $8.38 a share.
