Shares of KB Home (NYSE: KBH) surged Wednesday after the homebuilder reported first-quarter fiscal 2014 results before markets opened. It posted its first quarterly profit for the period since 2007.
KB Home reported quarterly diluted earnings per share (EPS) of $0.12 on revenues of $450.7 million. In the same period a year ago, KB Home reported an EPS loss of $0.16 on revenue of $405.2 million. Second-quarter results also compare to the Thomson Reuters consensus estimates for EPS of $0.08 and $435.30 million in revenue.
KB Home said that it delivered 1,442 homes in the first quarter and that the average selling price increased by $33,900 to $305,200. Average selling prices were higher in all four of the company’s homebuilding regions.
Gross profit margins came in a 17.7%, up from the year-ago margin of 14.8% and the highest first-quarter housing gross profit margin since 2006. The housing backlog was up 4% year-over year, and new net orders were 6% higher.
The company’s CEO said:
We are pleased by our first quarter results. Building on the momentum and the full-year profitability our business achieved in 2013, we posted net income in the first quarter for the first time since 2007, along with higher average selling prices, increased revenues, expanded gross margins and improved operating leverage. … As we continue to execute on our business strategies, increasing the number of communities we operate will be a key factor in driving higher revenues and profits this year.
The company offered no guidance, but the consensus estimates for the current quarter call for EPS of $0.19 on revenues of $522.01 million. For the full year, the EPS estimate is $1.23 on revenues of $2.35 billion.
Shares were up 9% in early trading Wednesday to $19.44, and they were still up more than 6% in late morning at $18.88. Shares have traded between $15.48 and $25.14 in the past year.
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