ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) _ D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI) on Thursday reported fiscal fourth-quarter net income of $466.1 million and said rising prices and mortgages rates are affecting demand.
The Arlington, Texas-based company said it had net income of $1.22 per share.
The results did not meet Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 19 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of $1.23 per share.
The homebuilder posted revenue of $4.51 billion in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $4.49 billion, which also missed Street forecasts. Nineteen analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $4.59 billion.
For the year, the company reported profit of $1.46 billion, or $3.81 per share. Revenue was reported as $16 billion.
“With 51,857 homes closed in fiscal 2018, D.R. Horton completed its 17th consecutive year as the largest homebuilder in the United States,” said Donald R. Horton, Chairman of the Board. “We generated positive cash flows from operations the last four years while our annual revenues doubled over the same period. Our consolidated pre-tax income increased 29% to $2.1 billion on revenues of $16.1 billion, and our consolidated pre-tax profit margin improved 140 basis points to 12.8%. Our homebuilding return on inventory improved 360 basis points from a year ago to 20.2%, and homebuilding cash flow from operations was $1.0 billion in fiscal 2018. These results reflect the strength of our experienced operational teams, industry-leading market share, broad geographic footprint and affordable product offerings across multiple brands.
“Sales prices for both new and existing homes have increased across most of our markets over the past several years, which coupled with rising interest rates has impacted affordability and resulted in some moderation of demand for homes, particularly at higher price points. However, we continue to see good demand and a limited supply of homes at affordable prices across our markets, and economic fundamentals and financing availability remain solid. We are pleased with our current product offerings and positioning to meet demand in the current market, and we will adjust to future changes in market conditions as necessary.
D.R. Horton shares have decreased 26 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has climbed 5 percent. The stock has dropped 16 percent in the last 12 months. At the end of the day on Thursday, the stock was down $3.37 to $34.22
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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
