Calabasas, CA, April 20, 2006--Home builder Ryland Group on Thursday reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings, but the number and value of new orders fell sharply and the company cut its outlook, as the U.S. home market continued to slow.
Ryland reported first-quarter net profit of $90 million, or $1.86 per share, well above analysts' average forecast of $1.74 per share as compiled by Reuters Estimates.
A year earlier, Ryland earned of $62.7 million, or $1.25 per share.
The company reported quarterly revenue that rose to $1.07 billion, above the $1.01 billion Wall Street expected. Home-building revenue, which reflects orders taken about six months ago when the market was stronger, rose 23 percent to $1.06 billion. The number of home-closings rose 13 percent to 3,554, and the average selling price rose 9 percent, to $295,000.
Gross profit margins from home sales averaged 24.4 percent, up from a year-ago but off of the prior quarter's 26.3 percent.
New orders continued to slide, down 21.2 percent from a year ago to 4,021 for the quarter as the value of the new orders fell 16.6 percent.
