KB Home reports increase in orders for new homes

By Las Vegas Sun Staff (contact)

Friday, March 27, 2009 | 8:53 a.m.

KB Home, a big homebuilder in the Las Vegas area, today heightened optimism about a potential economic turnaround as it reported an increase in orders for new homes.

The builder, based in Los Angeles, also reported a quarterly loss that was less than analysts projected. In early trading, its stock rose 6.9 percent to $15.13.

KB Home reported 1,827 orders for new homes in the quarter ending Feb. 28, up from 1,449 in the same quarter of 2008.

"KB Home continues to operate in a national housing market that is severely challenged by inventory oversupply, declining home prices, tightening lending standards, rising unemployment and weakening consumer confidence," Chief Executive Jeffrey Mezger said in a statement.

He said the company has responded with new home designs that offer greater value than competing resale or new homes and also have energy-efficient features.

For the first quarter, KB Home reported a loss of $58 million or 75 cents per share, down from the year-ago quarter's loss of $268 million or $3.47. Revenue fell from $794 million to $307 million as the recession scared consumers away from buying new homes.

Despite the declining revenue, investors were impressed by the results as analysts polled by Bloomberg News had projected a loss of 95 cents per share.

In the first quarter, KB Home said it delivered 1,445 homes at an average price of $210,700, down from 2,928 homes and an average price of $248,200 in the year-ago quarter.