Pulte Homes’ revenue soars

Jennifer Shubinski

Tuesday, July 27, 2004 | 11:01 a.m.

Two of the nation's largest home builders, also large Las Vegas builders, announced their quarterly earnings Monday.

Pulte Homes, which also builds under the Del Webb brand, late Monday afternoon reported a profit of $187.6 million, or $1.45 per share for the second quarter ended June 30, up from $122 million or 97 cents in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue grew 28.6 percent to $2.5 billion.

The Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based, company attributed improvement to the company's growth and higher home prices in several markets.

"We continued to expand our market share, while raising prices in a number of markets across the country," Richard Dugas Jr., president and chief executive said in a statement. "Through higher prices and more efficient building practices, we offset the impact of higher raw material costs and have, in fact, been able to significantly increase margins."

Pulte Homes, the nation's largest builder by stock market value, is the second largest home builder in Las Vegas, closing escrow on 2,717 homes in 2003, Home Builders Inc. reported.

Through the second quarter this year, Pulte has sold 1,748 houses, research firm SalesTraq reported.

Separately, Centex Corp. on Monday reported a profit of $177 million or $1.35 per share for its first fiscal-year quarter that ended June 30, up from $133 million, or $1.12 in the year-ago quarter.

Revenue grew 27 percent to $2.8 billion.

The Dallas-based company attributed the improvement to national job growth and rising consumer confidence.

"We are excited about the opportunity to further demonstrate the strength of the Centex operating model as we move into an improving economic environment," Lel Echols, executive vice president and chief financial officer said in a statement.

Centex Homes, the fourth largest home builder by stock market value, is the Las Vegas Valley's seventh largest home builder, based on 839 homes sold in 2003, Home Builders Research reported. The company also builds houses in the area under the name Real Homes.

In the first two calendar quarters, Centex closed escrow on 673 homes, SalesTraq reported.