Miami, FL, December 16, 2005--Lennar Corp., one of the nation's largest homebuilders, on Thursday reported its fourth-quarter profit rose 53 percent, well above Wall Street estimates, as the company improved its building process and generated higher revenue.
The Miami-based company's strength comes as analysts predict that the home-building market will finally cool off after five years of record-breaking growth.
But Stuart Miller, Lennar's president and chief executive, noted that despite "signs nationally of a more normalized level of activity with regards to sales pace and price appreciation," he is poised for future success because of a strong balance sheet, a large backlog of orders and investments in growing markets.
Earnings for the quarter ended Nov. 30 totaled $581.2 million, or $3.54 per share, up from $379.7 million, or $2.29 per share, a year earlier. Revenue increased 42 percent to $5.03 billion from $3.55 billion last year.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial expected earnings of $3.34 per share on $4.96 billion in revenue.
"The intense focus on the fundamentals of our homebuilding process allowed us to achieve record results once again in fiscal 2005, as we exceeded our target and delivered a record 42,359 homes despite the 400 to 500 deliveries delayed due to the significant disruption caused by Hurricane Wilma," Miller said in a statement.
Lennar said gross margin from home sales rose to $1.3 billion, or 27 percent, from $860.4 million, or 25.6 percent, in the prior year. New orders increased 25 percent to 10,236 homes.
For the full year, the company's profit climbed to $1.36 billion, or $8.23 per share, from $945.6 million, or $5.70 per share. Earnings from continuing operations were $1.34 billion, or $8.17 per share.
Revenue for the year rose to $13.87 billion from $10.5 billion.
The company said it still expects fiscal 2006 earnings of $9.25 per share. Analysts forecast a profit of $9.30 per share.
