Beazer turns a profit on higher home orders, closings

By Kerri Ann Panchuk
• February 2, 2012 • 9:16am

Beazer Homes USA Inc.  ($15.15 -0.03%) turned a first-quarter profit with the homebuilder recording more home orders and closings.

The Atlanta-based builder posted earnings of $739,000, or 1 cent a share, on revenue of $188.5 million for the period ending Dec. 31. Beazer bested the concensus estimate that the homebuilder would lose 36 cents a share in the quarter, according to analysts polled by Yahoo Finance.

That compares to a net loss of $48.8 million, or 65 cents a share, on revenue of $108 million, for the year-ago quarter.

The firm shored up 724 new orders in 1Q, a 36% jump from fiscal 2011. Meanwhile, it closed on 867 homes, a 67% increase from the previous year. 

The cancellation rate grew to 35.1% from 31.4% in 2011 during the most recent period. 

Beazer controlled 25,998 lots in at the end of its first quarter, a 3% drop from a year earlier. 

kpanchuk@housingwire.com

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