ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) _ D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI) on Friday reported fiscal first-quarter earnings of $287.2 million.
The Arlington-based company said it had profit of 76 cents per share.
The results missed Wall Street expectations. The average estimate of 18 analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for earnings of 78 cents per share.
The homebuilder posted revenue of $3.52 billion in the period. Its adjusted revenue was $3.5 billion, beating Street forecasts. Nineteen analysts surveyed by Zacks expected $3.47 billion.
Homebuilding revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2019 increased 6% to $3.4 billion from $3.2 billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2018. Homes closed in the quarter increased 7% to 11,500 homes compared to 10,788 homes closed in the same quarter of fiscal 2018.
Net sales orders for the first quarter ended Dec. 31, 2018 increased 3 percent to 11,042 homes compared to 10,753 homes in the same quarter of the prior year and were unchanged in value at $3.2 billion. The Company’s cancellation rate (cancelled sales orders divided by gross sales orders) for the first quarter of fiscal 2019 was 24 percent compared to 22 percent in the prior year quarter.
The company had 33,700 homes in inventory at December 31, 2018, and its homebuilding land and lot portfolio at December 31, 2018 was 309,400 lots, of which 42 percent were owned and 58 percent were controlled through option contracts.
“The D.R. Horton team delivered solid results for the first fiscal quarter of 2019,” said Donald R. Horton, Chairman of the Board. “Net income for the quarter increased 52% to $287.2 million on a 6% increase in consolidated revenues to $3.5 billion. Our pre-tax profit margin for the first quarter was 10.7%, and our home sales revenues increased 7%. 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 product offerings and positioning for the upcoming spring selling season, and we will adjust to future changes in market conditions as necessary.
“Our continued strategic focus is to consolidate market share while growing our revenues and profits, generating strong cash flows and returns and maintaining a flexible financial position. With 33,700 homes in inventory at the end of December and 309,400 lots owned and controlled, we are well-positioned for fiscal 2019 and future years.”
D.R. Horton shares have increased 11 percent since the beginning of the year, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 index has increased slightly more than 5 percent. The stock has dropped 26 percent in the last 12 months. – Associated Press, FWBP Staff
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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