PulteGroup profit falls on declining revenue

PulteGroup logged a lower profit in the second quarter as home sales dragged.

The home builder posted a profit of $472 million, or $2.48 a share, compared with $608 million, or $3.03 a share, in the same quarter a year earlier. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting $2.36 a share.

Sale revenues dropped 11% to $3.81 billion, while overall revenue came in at 9.6% lower at $3.98 billion, still ahead of analyst estimates for $3.94 billion.

The company said closing volumes fell 8% to just under 7,000 homes, while the average sales price pulled back 3% to $544,000.

PulteGroup’s home sales margin contracted to 25% from 27% in the year-earlier quarter. Selling, general and administrative costs pulled back slightly.

Net new orders meanwhile increased 6% to more than 7,500 homes, driven by a higher community count that boosted orders across all buyer groups.

Write to Dean Seal at [email protected]