Del Webb profit tops estimates

Tuesday, July 25, 2000 | 11:31 a.m.

Del Webb Corp. of Phoenix, the nation's top retirement community builder and the No. 2 home builder in the Las Vegas Valley, today reported higher earnings for the quarter ending June 30.

The builder of three Sun City developments in the Las Vegas area and the Anthem country club community reported earnings per share of $1.67 for the quarter, surpassing analysts' projections of $1.46.

The company reported revenues of $635 million and net earnings of $30.7 million for the company's fourth quarter. That compares with revenues of $518.9 million, net earnings of $23.7 million and earnings per share of $1.27 for the fourth quarter of 1999.

Most of the company's strength in Las Vegas was in its Anthem home sales, while the company's Sun Cities and Coventry Homes divisions sales were down from the previous year. Del Webb has three Sun Cities projects in one Las Vegas division with homes at Anthem, MacDonald Ranch and Summerlin, which is closing out.

LeRoy Hanneman, president and chief executive officer of the Phoenix-based company, attributed the company's success to a greater number of new orders than anticipated in the quarter.

"During the last three months, we saw good momentum in our sales despite higher mortgage interest rates," Hanneman said. "The opening of our four new communities last year created some very awkward sales comparisons on a quarter-to-quarter basis throughout the year, but the overall health of our business is quite good."

For the fourth quarter, the company reported the number of net new orders in the Las Vegas Sun Cities division was down 2.5 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 1999, from 361 to 352, and the company's Coventry Homes family communities division was down 37.8 percent from 98 to 61. But net new orders for Anthem for the period were up 35.2 percent, from 54 to 73.

Home closings for the Las Vegas Sun Cities were down 11.3 percent for the quarter, from 441 to 391, and Coventry closings were down 43.1 percent, from 153 to 87 from the fourth quarter of 1999. But Anthem closings climbed 38.6 percent, from 70 to 97 for the period.