Bloomfield Hills, MI, July 27--Pulte Homes Inc., the No. 2 U.S. home builder said its quarterly earnings rose 54 percent, as higher home prices helped offset increased raw material costs.
Pulte posted second-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $187.7 million, or $1.45 a share, compared with $122 million, or 98 cents a share, a year earlier.
That beat Wall Street's forecast of $1.43 a share, according to analysts polled by Reuters Estimates.
Citing a backlog of homes for sale and further growth in its profit margins, Pulte raised its profit forecast for the year to a range of $7.80 to $8.00 a share, up from its previously raised outlook of $7.00 to $7.25 a diluted share. Analysts had on average expected the company to earn $7.05 a share for the year, according to Reuters Estimates.
Net income, which includes a small loss from discontinued operations, was $187.6 million, or $1.45 a share, versus $121.7 million, or 97 cents a share, a year ago.
