WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - PulteGroup, Inc. (PHM) reported Thursday that its fourth-quarter net income was $228.03 million or $0.64 per share, compared to prior year net income of $217 million or $0.58 per share.
The latest results included $0.07 per share of benefit associated with the reversal of certain mortgage and construction related insurance reserves. Prior year net income included $0.16 per share of income tax and insurance benefits.
On average, 19 analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $0.49 per share. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.
Total revenues increased to $2.06 billion from last year's $1.82 billion. Analysts expected revenues of $1.85 billion.
Home sale revenues for the fourth quarter totaled $2.0 billion, an increase of 12% over the prior year.
The increase in revenues was driven by a 7% increase in closings to 5,662 homes combined with a 6% increase in average selling price to $353,000.
For the quarter, the Company reported 3,659 net new orders, an increase of 13% from prior year.
Richard Dugas, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO of PulteGroup, said, 'We realized a significant increase in fourth quarter operating performance driven by gains in order rates, closings, pricing and margins, while the 26% increase in our backlog value to $2.5 billion provides excellent momentum for strong earnings growth in 2016.'
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