(Reuters) -Lennar Corp reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, helped by higher home prices as supply of new homes remains tight even as demand soars.
The COVID-19 pandemic has fueled demand for spacious and more expensive homes as millions of Americans work from home and take classes remotely.
The virus, however, has disrupted labor supply, causing shortages of lumber and other raw materials.
The shortage has hurt homebuilders’ ability to ramp up construction of new homes to meet demand, while also pushing up new home prices as buyers scramble to get hold of available inventory.
The No. 2 U.S. homebuilder reaffirmed its full-year home deliveries outlook of between 62,000 homes and 64,000 homes, while raising its average sales price forecast by 5% to $420,000.
Lennar said net earnings attributable to the company rose to $831.4 million, or $2.65 per share, in the second quarter ended May 31, from $517.4 million, or $1.65 per share, a year earlier.
Excluding items, Lennar earned $2.95 per share in the quarter, beating analysts’ average estimate of $2.36 per share, according to IBES data from Refinitiv.
Total revenue rose 21.6% to $6.43 billion.
(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)
