HomeBuilders

[mlkrborn]

8:06AM KB Home misses by $1.22, misses on revs (KBH) 12.20 : Reports Q1 (Feb) GAAP loss of $1.49 per share, $1.22 worse than the Thomson Reuters consensus of ($0.27); revenues fell 25.4% year/year to $196.9 mln vs the $223.6 mln consensus. Net orders totaled 1,302 in the first quarter of 2011, down 32% from 1,913 net orders generated in the same period of 2010. The year-over-year comparison was negatively affected in part by heightened activity in the 2010 first quarter stemming from a federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers that was available during that period. The co's cancellation rate as a percentage of gross orders increased to 29% in the 2011 first quarter from 22% in the year-earlier quarter. As a percentage of beginning backlog, the cancellation rate was 39% in the first quarter of 2011 and 26% in the year-earlier quarter. The number of homes in backlog at February 28, 2011 decreased 38% on a year-over-year basis to 1,689 from 2,713, while the projected future revenues in backlog declined 32% to ~$353.6 million at February 28, 2011... The co delivered 949 homes in the first quarter of 2011, down 28% from the same period of 2010, with decreases in each of the Company's geographic regions. The co's first-quarter average selling price rose 4% from the year-earlier period to $205,700, with increases of 1%, 7% and 26% in the co's West Coast, Central and Southeast regions, respectively, partly offset by a 6% decrease in the Southwest region. "As this year's spring selling season has commenced, we are encouraged by the higher traffic we experienced in the first quarter compared to a year ago, as well as the sequential improvement in our monthly net order levels during the quarter."