Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN), one of the country’s largest homebuilders, today reported earnings for its first fiscal quarter ended February 29th. The company reported EPS of $0.08 on total revenue of $724 million. The consensus estimates called for EPS of $0.04 on revenue of $700 million.
About $100 million of Lennar’s revenues come from its financing operations. Of the company’s $15 million profit for the quarter, $9.4 million came from its Rialto financing segment. Operating profit from homebuilding fell year-over-year, from $35 million a year ago to $20 million this year. Homebuilding revenue in the same period a year ago totaled $467 million compared with homebuilding revenue in the 2012 first quarter of $624 million.
The company’s CEO anticipates more improvement ahead:
New sales orders in the first quarter were encouraging. We have seen the market stabilize, driven by a combination of low home prices and low interest rates, making the decision to purchase a new home more attractive, compared to the heated rental market. We recorded our strongest first quarter sales since 2008, with new orders increasing 33% year-over-year. We have been able to increase sales prices and have started to reduce sales incentives in some of our communities.
Investors appear to be happy with Lennar’s results. Shares are up about 4% in the pre-market this morning, at $27.44, which is above Lennar’s 52-week high.
Paul Ausick
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