On the heels of its recent announcement that it bought Orleans Homes divisions in Chicago, Raleigh, and Charlotte, Taylor Morrison released its second quarter earnings Wednesday.
Taylor Morrison’s earnings per share, orders, and gross margins all beat estimates on the strength of the builder’s higher-than-expected home building revenue and gains on land sale. It also reiterated its 2015 guidance after the Orleans acquisition.
Here are some of the second quarter highlights:
–Net sales ordered increased 22% from the prior year quarter to 1,877
–Average community count expanded 21% on a year-over-year basis to 245 average communities
–Home closings revenue was $682 million, a 17% increase from the prior year quarter
–Home closings gross margin was 18.9%, and 21.9% when adjusted for capitalized interest
–Average community count increased 21% year-over-year to 245 average communities
–Net sales orders increased over 22% to 1,877
–Home closings increased 15% to 1,480
–Backlog of homes under contract was 3,456 units, with a sales value of $1.6 billion as of June 30, 2015
–Average price of homes closed increased to $461,000 from $452,000 in the prior year quarter
Taylor Morrison CEO Sheryl Palmer is leading strategy on the next generation of 55+ lifestyle communities.
“With a focus on delivering against our four-pillar strategy and a strong step toward expanding our U.S. footprint, I am extremely pleased with our second quarter results as indications of healthy housing demand remain intact,” said Taylor Morrison’s President and CEO, Sheryl Palmer said in a statement.”
Along with second quarter earnings, Taylor Morrison provided guidance for the remainder of the year. For the year, the Scottsdale, Az.-based builder increased its average community count outlook from 235-240 to 260-270 and updated its closings outlook to 6,600-6,800, (up 17-21% versus up 10-15% previously). It did reduce gross margin expectations to just under 22%, instead of around 22%.
J.P. Morgan’s Michael Rehaut was pleased with the guidance. “Overall, we believe TMHC’s current valuation, trading at only 8.8x our 2016E EPS, below our universe average of 11.0x, does not properly reflect our outlook for solid earnings growth in 2016, as well as the upside potential to our estimates from the likely further reinvestment of the company’s sale proceeds from its Canadian operations,” he wrote.
