NVR, Inc. (NYSE: NVR) on Friday reported net income for its fourth quarter ended December 31, 2018 of $232,158,000, or $58.57 per diluted share, up 86% and 103%, respectively, when compared to 2017 fourth quarter net income of $124,619,000, or $28.88 per diluted share. The gain beat analyst expectations of a profit of $50.67 per share.
Consolidated revenues for the fourth quarter of 2018 totaled $1,994,548,000, a 10% increase from $1,816,336,000 in the fourth quarter of 2017.
For the year ended December 31, 2018, consolidated revenues were $7,163,674,000, a 14% increase from $6,305,840,000 reported for 2017. Net income for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $797,197,000, an increase of 48% when compared to the year ended December 31, 2017. Diluted earnings per share for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $194.80, an increase of 54% from $126.77 per diluted share for 2017.
Net income and diluted earnings per share were favorably impacted by a reduction in the company's effective tax rate. The effective tax rates for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2018 were 16.3% and 16.9%, respectively, compared to 52.3% and 36.5% for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2017, respectively.
New orders in the fourth quarter of 2018 decreased by 11% to 3,841 units, when compared to 4,306 units in the fourth quarter of 2017. The average sales price of new orders in the fourth quarter of 2018 was $376,100, a decrease of 1% when compared with the fourth quarter of 2017.
Settlements increased in the fourth quarter of 2018 to 5,186 units, which was 12% higher than the fourth quarter of 2017. The company's backlog of homes sold but not settled as of December 31, 2018 decreased on a unit basis by 2% to 8,365 units and decreased on a dollar basis by 4% to $3,152,873,000 when compared to December 31, 2017.
Home building revenues in the fourth quarter of 2018 totaled $1,954,403,000, 10% higher than the year earlier period. Gross profit margin in the fourth quarter of 2018 decreased to 18.6%, compared to 19.3% in the fourth quarter of 2017. Income before tax from the home building segment totaled $255,074,000 in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of 5% when compared to the fourth quarter of 2017.
New orders for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased by 4% to 18,281 units, when compared to 17,608 units in 2017. Settlements increased 16% year over year to 18,447 units in 2018 from 15,961 units in 2017. Home building revenues for the year ended December 31, 2018 totaled $7,004,304,000, which was 13% higher than 2017. Gross profit margin for the year ended December 31, 2018 was 18.7%, compared to 19.2% in 2017. Income before tax for the home building segment for the year ended December 31, 2018 was $871,106,000, a 12% increase when compared to 2017.
Mortgage closed loan production in the fourth quarter of 2018 totaled $1,356,430,000, an increase of 10% when compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. Income before tax from the mortgage banking segment totaled $22,364,000 in the fourth quarter of 2018, an increase of 15% when compared to $19,518,000 in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Mortgage closed loan production for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased 14% to $4,829,406,000. Income before tax from the mortgage banking segment for the year ended December 31, 2018 increased 26% to $88,626,000 from $70,541,000 in 2017.
