D.R. Horton quarterly profit misses on higher home prices

[January 25, 2019]    (Reuters) - U.S. homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc missed analysts' estimates for first-quarter profit on Friday, as higher home prices made buyers delay purchases.

The company's shares fell 2.1 percent to $37.50 before the bell.

"Sales prices for both new and existing homes have increased across most of our markets over the past several years, which coupled with rising interest rates has impacted affordability," Chairman Donald Horton said.

U.S. home sales tumbled to their lowest level in three years in December and house price increases slowed sharply, suggesting a further loss of momentum in the housing market.

Orders, an indicator of future revenue for homebuilders, rose 2.7 percent to 11,042 homes in the reported quarter.

Net income attributable to the company rose to $287.2 million, or 76 cents per share, in the quarter ended Dec. 31, from $189.3 million, or 49 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 5.6 percent to $3.52 billion.

Analysts had expected a profit of 78 cents per share on revenue of $3.51 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.

(Reporting by Rama Venkat and Sanjana Shivdas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)

 

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