Lennar Corp. (NYSE: LEN) said Thursday that the homebuilder posted a profit in its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings due to an adjustment in its income taxes, according to Associated Press.
Lennar also said that orders for new homes increased for the first time in more than three years as homebuyers took advantage of lower prices and a federal tax credit.
Top Best Penny Stocks, a leading financial publication, is pleased to alert investors of stocks on the move. Sign up for our Free Stock Newsletter.
Sales of new homes fell 11 percent between October and November to the lowest level since April. It was the second monthly drop in three months.
Lennar said it earned $35.6 million, or 19 cents per share, in the quarter ended Nov. 30. It suffered a loss of $811 million, or $5.12 a share, a year earlier.
The tax gain reported in the fiscal fourth quarter came from a change in federal accounting rules that allowed the company to reverse previous write-downs of deferred tax assets.
Without the tax benefit, the homebuilder would have lost $284.9 million, or $1.15 per share. The tax benefit was offset by charges totaling 89 cents per share related to adjustments in the value of land and other write-offs.
Revenue fell 29 percent to $913.7 million from $1.28 billion, due to a 22 percent drop in the number of home deliveries. The average selling price of homes dropped 9 percent to $238,000 from last year's fourth quarter.
Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters were expecting a loss of 48 cents a share, on average, on $863 million in revenue.
The company improved its cancellation rate compared with last year's fourth quarter, to 20 percent from 32 percent.
For the full fiscal year, Lennar posted a loss of $417.1 million, or $2.45 per share, compared with a loss of $1.1 billion, or $7 per share, in 2008. Revenue fell 32 percent to $3.1 billion.
Orders for new homes in 2009 fell 14 percent to 11,510. The cancellation rate improved from 26 percent to 18 percent.
Lennar shares rose $1.50, or 11 percent, to $15.20 in morning trading.
Sign up for Top Best Penny Stocks' free newsletter. To subscribe, enter your e-mail address into the frame at the bottom of this press release or visit our website.
Follow us on Twitter: http://www.Twitter.com/topbestps
About Us
Top Best Penny Stocks is a leading stock web site that allows investors and interested parties to research stocks that are on the move. We also track small cap companies that are on the brink of a financial breakout. To feature a company on our web site please contact us at the email listed below.
Please click here to read the full disclaimer.
