KB Home (NYSE: KBH) reported first-quarter 2013 results before markets opened this morning. The home builder posted a quarterly diluted earnings per share (EPS) loss of $0.16 on revenues of $405.2 million. In the same period a year ago, KB Home reported a net loss of $0.59 per share on revenue of $254.6 million. This morning’s results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for a net loss of $0.22 per share and $359.8 million in revenue.

The company offered no guidance, but the consensus estimates for the second quarter call for a net loss of $0.11 per share on revenues of $412.2 million. For the full year, the EPS estimate is $0.16 on revenues of $2.04 billion.

The company’s CEO said:

Our revenue growth, combined with our actions to generate greater operating efficiencies and reduce sales incentives, increased our operating margin significantly and produced substantially better bottom line results. We also experienced robust net order growth and ended the quarter with our backlog value up 53% from a year ago. These results, in combination with our current strategic growth plans, the strengthening recovery of housing markets, low mortgage interest rates and firming consumer confidence, reinforce our optimism for the remainder of the year.

Gross profit margins on building rose sharply from 8% in the year-ago quarter to 14.8% this year. The housing backlog is up 53% on a dollar basis going into the second quarter of 2013 and up 25% on a number of homes basis.

New net orders are up 40%. The strong gain was attributed to double-digit percentage growth in each of the company’s home building regions.

Shares are up 2.5% in premarket trading this morning, at $21.57 in a 52-week range of $6.46 to $21.79. Thomson Reuters had a consensus analyst price target of around $17.80 before today’s results were announced.

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