| LOS ANGELES -- KB Home reported a quarterly profit of $174.5 million for the period ended February 28, an increase of 42% over previous year results for the same period.
The homebuilder generated revenue of $2.19 billion during the quarter, delivering 7,905 homes with an average selling price of $276,200, a sticker price 17% higher than a year earlier.
KB Home reported a backlog of 26,536 units, with a dollar value of approximately $7.24 billion.
"Our record first quarter deliveries, revenues and earnings represent a great start for our 2006 fiscal year," said Bruce Karatz, chairman and chief executive officer. "Our homebuilding operations continue to benefit from geographic and product diversity, attractive interest rates, and healthy economic conditions and employment levels in our most important markets. And our organization continues to set the industry pace for exceptional service to both homebuyers and shareholders. During the quarter, we were honored to be ranked the #1 homebuilder in Fortune magazine's 2006 list of America's Most Admired Companies."
"Nationally, it is clear that some housing markets have moderated from the over-heated and, in some cases, speculative pace of growth of the past few years," said Karatz. "In our view, this tempering of demand to more sustainable long-term levels is a healthy trend for our company and the industry. There are signs of cooling in the hottest markets on both coasts and a shift in investor activity from buying to selling, resulting in less demand and increased supply in certain markets. Once these factors work their way through current housing supplies, however, we expect the market to move to a new equilibrium which will provide a platform for continuing and sustainable growth by KB Home. With this outlook and our healthy first-quarter performance, we feel confident in maintaining our earnings estimate of $11.25 per diluted share for 2006."
For more information about any of KB Home visit www.kbhome.com
This eUpdate posting by: Steve Joyce, Editor
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