(Reuters) -Lennar Corp reported an about 35% rise in quarterly profit on Wednesday, as the No.2 U.S. homebuilder benefited from consistently high demand for houses and surging prices.
Demand for housing surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as Americans increasingly moved away from city centers to suburbs and other low-density areas, in search of large and spacious homes to accommodate remote working and online schooling.
However, coronavirus restrictions, as well as shortages of materials and labor, have disrupted operations and driven prices of new homes incrementally higher.
Lennar’s orders, an indicator of future revenue, rose 2.1% to 15,539 homes in the fourth quarter.
Revenue rose to $8.43 billion, beating analysts’ average estimate of $8.27 billion, according to Refinitiv data.
Net earnings attributable to the company rose to $1.19 billion, or $3.91 per share, in the fourth quarter ended Nov. 30, from $882.8 million, or $2.82 per share, a year earlier.
(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)
