PulteGroup 1st-qtr loss narrows as revenue grows

BLOOMFIELD HILLS (AP) -- PulteGroup Inc. said last Thursday its first-quarter loss narrowed, boosted by higher home sale prices. The Bloomfield Hills, Mich.-based homebuilder posted a loss of $11.7 million, or 3 cents per share, compared with a loss of $39.5 million, or 10 cents per share, in the same quarter last year. Revenue rose 9.4 percent to $881 million from $805.2 million. Home sale revenue rose 4 percent to $813.8 million, largely as a result in a 5 percent increase in the company's average home selling price, which was partially offset by a 1 percent drop in the number of home sales. The recent quarter's results also included $38.4 million in land sale revenue, while the prior-year quarter included just $1.3 million. The results beat Wall Street predictions. Analysts, on average, expected a loss of 4 cents per share on $833.8 million in revenue, according to a FactSet poll. Pulte said that while industrywide home sale volumes remain well below normal levels, it's seeing some positive signs, pointing to a 15 percent increase in orders for new homes during the first quarter. The company's cancelation rate fell to 15 percent, down from 16 percent a year ago. "While overall industry volumes remain well below normal levels, our first-quarter sales and traffic patterns suggest a positive shift in buyer sentiment during the period," Richard Dugas Jr., chairman, president and CEO, said in a statement. "We are only one quarter into the year, but the start has exceeded our internal estimates and has us cautiously optimistic that housing demand may have reached a positive inflection point." As of March 31, Pulte had a backlog of 5,798 home worth $1.6 billion, up from 5,188 worth $1.4 billion at the same time last year. Published: Mon, Apr 30, 2012