D.R. Horton Posts Higher Q2 Earnings

reported a rise in its earnings for the second quarter on Wednesday. The Fort Worth, Texas-based company reported a quarterly profit of $147.9 million, or $0.40 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $131 million, or $0.38 per share. Home-building revenue gained 38 percent to $2.34 billion. However, analysts were projecting a profit of $0.38 per share on revenue of $2.21 billion. Net sales orders climbed 33 percent in value to $3.2 billion from $2.4 billion, while sales orders surged 30 percent in homes to 11,135 from 8,569 homes. Home closed in the first quarter jumped 38 percent in value to $2.3 billion from $1.7 billion, while the number of homes closed rose 33 percent in homes to 8,243 from 6,194 homes. At March 31, 2015, sales-order backlog rose 27 percent in value to $3.6 billion and 21 percent in homes to 12,177. Its gross margin shrank to 19.1 percent from 22.2 percent. D.R. Horton declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.0625 per common share. The average estimate among 13 Estimize users was for earnings of $0.41 per share and revenue of $2.23 billion. Donald R. Horton, Chairman of the Board, said, "The spring selling season at D.R. Horton is off to a strong start. In the second quarter, the value of our net sales orders, home sales revenue and sales order backlog increased year-over-year by 33%, 38% and 27%, respectively. Our sales increased by double-digit percentages in all three of our brands, reflecting strong performance in our core D.R. Horton communities and the expansion of our luxury brand, Emerald Homes, and our entry-level brand, Express Homes. Our increasingly diverse product offerings are enabling us to expand our industry-leading market share." D.R. Horton shares rose 1.58 percent to $29.01 in pre-market trading.