(By Balachander) Toll Brothers Inc. (NYSE: TOL), a builder of luxury homes, posted a jump in quarterly earnings as a hefty tax benefit boosted results.
Net earnings were $411.42 million, including a net tax benefit of $350.7 million, compared with $15.04 million in the same period of last year. Earnings per share (EPS) were $2.35 versus 9 cents in the fourth quarter of last year and market expectations of 23 cents.
Revenue surged 48 percent to $632.8 million, topping consensus estimate of a growth of 32.50 percent.
Gross margin expanded to 20.1 percent from 15.3 percent.
Homebuilding deliveries rose 44 percent in units.
Backlog was $1.67 billion, up 54 percent in units from last year.
For the full year 2013, the Horsham, Pennsylvania-based company sees deliveries between 3,600 and 4,400 homes at an average price of between $595,000 and $630,000 per home.
TOL shares closed Monday's regular trading at $32.43. The stock has been trading in the 52-week range between $18.95 and $37.08.