KB Home (NYSE: KBH) posted a smaller third-quarter loss on Friday as it reduced costs and said new home orders increased, according to Associated Press.
Wall Street Grand is a leading online financial publication. We are pleased to alert investors of stocks that are on the move.
Sign Up for our Free Stock Newsletter
The results missed analysts' expectations, but the smaller loss offered more evidence that the housing market is on an upswing.
The company said it lost $66 million, or 87 cents a share, in the three months ended in August. That compares with a loss of $144.7 million, or $1.87 a share, the same period last year.
KB Home said it improved its results by focusing on cost reduction, managing inventory levels and building smaller homes to compete with heavily discounted foreclosures.
Revenue dropped 33 percent to $458.5 million from $681.6 million the year before due to fewer home sales and a decrease in the average sales price.
The company sold 2,240 homes in the current quarter, a 20 percent decline from the year-ago period, while the average selling price fell 15 percent to $202,800.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 58 cents a share on revenue of about $457.9 million.
The results provided new signs that the housing market, while fragile, is on the mend. KB Home said its new home orders jumped 62 percent in the third quarter from the year before to 2,158, with every region posting year-over-year growth.
Its cancellation rate dropped to 27 percent during the quarter, compared to 51 percent in the previous year.
Low mortgage rates and a federal tax credit of up to $8,000 for first-time homebuyers have helped to fuel recent dealmaking. Nationally, new home sales have risen for four straight months, and August's new home sales are projected to be higher when official figures are released later Friday.
Sign up for Today for our free Wall Street Grand newsletter. To subscribe, enter your e-mail address into the frame at the bottom of this press release or visit our website.
About Wall Street Grand
Wall Street Grand is the best investor relations company on the web. From Research Reports to Stock Profiles, we give you everything you need to make the best investment decisions daily. Each of our Featured Investment Opportunities hold premium characteristics to succeed even our own expectations making us the best kept secret of Wall Street.
To feature a company on our web site please contact us at the email listed below.
Wall Street Grand's stock profiles are intended to be stock ideas, NOT recommendations. Please do your own research before investing. Please click here to read the full disclaimer.
