Meritage Homes Q1 Profit Rises

(RTTNews) - Meritage Homes Corp. (MTH), a leading U.S. homebuilder, reported that its net earnings were $217.3 million or $5.79 per share for the first quarter of 2022, an increase from the prior year's $131.8 million or $3.44 per share. Strong earnings growth reflected pricing power, expanded gross margin and improved overhead leverage, which combined with a lower outstanding share count in the current quarter, led to a 68% year-over-year improvement in earnings per share.

As a result of favorable pricing power, home closing revenue increased 15% year-over-year to $1.2 billion for the first quarter of 2022.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report earnings of $4.69 per share and revenues of $1.25 billion. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

The company projects 14,500-15,500 home closings for the full year 2022, which it anticipates will generate $6.5 billion - $6.9 billion in home closing revenue. Home closing gross margin is projected to be in the low 28% range. It expects earnings per share to be in the range of $26.30-27.90 for 2022.