(By Balachander) Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE:TOL) posted a jump in quarterly earnings, helped by strong revenue growth and expansion of margins.
Net earnings increased jumped 46 percent to $61.6 million. Earnings per share (EPS) rose to 36 cents from 25 cents, topping market expectations of 18 cents.
Revenue surged 41 percent to $554.3 million, topping consensus estimate of a growth of 29 percent.
Gross margin expanded to 24.4 percent from 23.4 percent. Operating margin improved 830 basis points to 5.7 percent for the third quarter.
Homebuilding deliveries rose 39 percent in units. Backlog was $1.62 billion, versus $1.02 billion in the comparable quarter of last year.
Looking ahead for the fourth quarter, Toll Brothers expects to deliver between 800 and 1,000 homes at an average price of between $570,000 and $590,000 per home.
For the full year, the Horsham, Pennsylvania-based company sees total home sale revenue in the range of $1.71 billion to $1.84 billion and total deliveries of between 3,000 and 3,200 homes. Analysts' expect revenue of $1.76 billion for the year ending October.
TOL shares closed Tuesday's regular trading at $31.81. The stock has been trading in the 52-week range between $13.16 and $32.55.