Huntingdon Valley, PA, Aug. 27--Toll Brothers Inc., a builder of luxury homes, Tuesday said profit jumped 27 percent during its latest quarter amid a surge in housing sales and contracts.
Toll Brothers, based in Huntingdon Valley, had net income of $68.2 million, or 90 cents a share, for its fiscal third quarter ended July 31, compared with $53.5 million, or 70 cents a share, in the same quarter a year earlier.
The latest results topped analysts' estimates by eight cents a share, according to a survey by Thomson First Call.
Revenue rose 19 percent in the latest quarter to $693.7 million from $580.7 million, as housing sales grew 20 percent to $678.5 million.
The company said it expects the housing market to continue to strengthen due to reports of an improving economy and the strength of current demand.
Home-building activity increased for the fourth straight month in July. Last week, the Commerce Department said housing starts rose by 1.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted 1.87 million annual rate.
Toll Brothers said it now controls about 46,500 home sites. The company expects an increase of about 20 percent in its new home deliveries in 2004 and plans to increase the number of communities where it sells houses to about 205 in 2004 from 185 today.
A surge in contracts on the West Coast and the Mid-Atlantic region boosted overall contracts for new homes to a record level in the third quarter. Total contracts rose 35 percent to $952.7 million for 1,671 homes.
At the end of the quarter, Toll Brothers also posted a record backlog of almost $2.5 billion for 4,411 homes, up 31 percent from last year.
The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for its 2002 fiscal year, which ended Oct. 31, 2002.
Shares of Toll Brothers traded Tuesday morning at $29.30, down 32 cents, or about 1 percent, on the New York Stock Exchange.
