Miami, FL, March 22—-Homebuilder Lennar Corp. said Tuesday that first-quarter earnings grew 39 percent year-over-year, as pricing power in land-constrained markets drove strong margins.
Net income increased to $193.2 million, or $1.17 per share, from $139.3 million, or 84 cents per share, in the 2004 period. Revenue rose 29 percent to $2.41 billion from $1.86 billion last year.
Economists were looking for the company to post earnings of $1.01 per share on sales of $2.29 billion in the latest quarter.
President and CEO Stuart Miller said, "The homebuilding industry continues to see strong demand resulting from positive demographic trends and supply constraints. As the industry continues to consolidate, we remain focused on targeting strategic opportunities to generate market share gains in our current markets as well as in new markets."
The company said revenue from home sales increased 33 percent to $2.2 billion from $1.7 billion in the first quarter of 2004. Revenue was higher primarily due to a 17 percent boost in the number of home deliveries and a 14 percent increase in the average sale price of homes delivered in 2005.
New home deliveries, excluding unconsolidated entities, increased to 7,577 homes from 6,495 homes last year. In the first quarter of 2005, new home deliveries were higher in each of the company's regions compared with 2004, with the biggest contribution coming from Lennar's West region.
Looking ahead, Lennar raised its 2005 earnings per share goal to $7.15 from $6.90. Analysts are predicting full-year profit of $6.83 per share.
