KB Home Earnings Increase 12%

KB Home, a builder of houses for first- and second-time home buyers, reported Thursday that quarterly earnings rose 12%, breezing past analysts’ expectations as the relentless U.S. demand for new homes continued.

For the fiscal fourth quarter ended Nov. 30, Los Angeles-based KB Home earned $138.7 million, or $3.31 a share, compared with $123.7 million, or $2.92 a share, a year earlier .

Analysts on average had expected the company to earn $3.07 a share, according to Reuters Research.

Fourth-quarter revenue rose to $1.87 billion, up 11% from $1.68 billion a year earlier.

KB Home builds houses in California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas and France.

During the quarter, the company delivered 8,874 homes, up 12% from a year earlier.

Companywide net orders for the quarter rose 14% to 6,629. Backlog, homes fully contracted for but still to be built and delivered, stood at 14,675 units at the end of November, up 22% from a year earlier. The dollar value of backlog totaled $3.07 billion, up 31% from a year ago.

For the full fiscal year, KB Home revenue increased 16% to $5.85 billion and earnings rose 18% to $370.8 million.

KB shares rose $1.18 to $67.18 on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday before the earnings were released.