Miami, FL, March 28, 2006--Homebuilder Lennar Corp., said its first-quarter profit grew 34 percent, topping Wall Street expectations.
For the fiscal first quarter net income grew to $258.1 million, or $1.58 per share, from $193.2 million, or $1.17 per share. Earnings from continuing operations in the year-earlier quarter totaled $192.8 million, or $1.17 per share.
Revenue rose 35 percent to $3.24 billion from $2.41 billion, reflecting strength in Lennar's homebuilding and land divisions.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial forecast, on average, a quarterly profit of $1.55 per share on revenue of $3.07 billion.
Stuart Miller, president and chief executive, said in a statement, "While there has been a slower sales pace in certain markets in which we operate and price appreciation in these markets has moderated relative to the appreciation experienced in the past few years, we were still able to achieve a 4 percent increase in new orders during the first quarter."
The company said its backlog rose 18 percent to $7.1 billion, leading the company to reaffirm its 2006 earnings-per-share target of $9.25.
According to 15 analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial, the Street expects Lennar to earn $9.30 per share for the year.
