ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) _ D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI) on Thursday reported fiscal third-quarter profit of $453.8 million.
The Arlington-based company said it had net income of $1.18 per share.
The results beat Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 19 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.08 per share.
The homebuilder posted revenue of $4.44 billion in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $4.42 billion, also topping Street forecasts. Twenty analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.33 billion.
D.R. Horton shares have dropped 23 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has increased 6.5 percent. The stock has increased roughly 7 percent in the last 12 months.
Net sales orders for the third quarter ended June 30, 2018 increased 12 percent to 14,650 homes and 13 percent in value to $4.4 billion compared to 13,040 homes and $3.9 billion in the same quarter of the prior year. The company’s cancellation rate (cancelled sales orders divided by gross sales orders) for the third quarter of fiscal 2018 was 21 percent, consistent with the prior year quarter. Net sales orders for the first nine months of fiscal 2018 increased 14 percent to 41,231 homes and 14 percent in value to $12.3 billion compared to 36,272 homes and $10.8 billion in the same period of fiscal 2017.
The company’s homes in inventory at June 30, 2018 increased 8 percent to 29,800 homes compared to 27,600 homes at June 30, 2017. The Company’s homebuilding land and lot portfolio at June 30, 2018 increased 10 percent to 277,700 lots, of which 44 percent were owned and 56 percent were controlled through option contracts, compared to 252,100 lots at June 30, 2017, of which 50 percent were owned and 50 percent were controlled through option contracts.
“The D.R. Horton team is producing strong results in fiscal 2018. Net income for the quarter increased 57 percent to $453.8 million on a 17 percent increase in consolidated revenues to $4.4 billion,” said Donald R. Horton, chairman. “Our pre-tax profit margin improved 210 basis points to 13.9 percent, and the value of our net sales orders increased 13 percent. For the nine months ended June 30, 2018, consolidated pre-tax income, homebuilding revenues and homes closed increased 30 percent, 16 percent and 14 percent, respectively. These results reflect the strength of our experienced operational teams, diverse product offerings from our family of brands and solid market conditions across our broad national footprint.
“Our balance sheet strength, liquidity and continued earnings growth are increasing our strategic and financial flexibility, and we plan to maintain our disciplined, opportunistic position to enhance the long-term value of our company. We continue to expect to grow our revenues and pre-tax profits at a double-digit annual pace, while generating increasing annual operating cash flows and returns. With 29,800 homes in inventory at the end of June and 277,700 lots owned and controlled, we are well-positioned for the fourth quarter and fiscal 2019.” _____
This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on DHI at https://www.zacks.com/ap/DHI