ATLANTA — Beazer Homes USA Inc.'s fiscal second-quarter loss narrowed, bolstered in part by more home closings and higher prices.
The loss reported Thursday was slightly larger than analysts expected but revenue beat estimates. Beazer Homes shares rose in premarket trading.
Home prices have been rising. On Tuesday, for example, a report said that U.S. home prices rose 9.3 percent in February compared with a year ago, the most in nearly seven years. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index increased from an 8.1 percent year-over-year gain in January.
The gains were driven by a growing number of buyers who bid on a limited supply of homes.
Beazer, an Atlanta homebuilder, said that it lost $19.6 million, or 80 cents per share, for the period ended March 31. That compares with a loss of $39.9 million, or $2.54 per share, a year ago.
Analysts polled by FactSet expected a loss of 72 cents per share.
Revenue climbed 50 percent to $287.9 million from $191.6 million, topping Wall Street's forecast of $254 million.
Total home closings rose 33.5 percent to 1,127, with the average sales price up 12.7 percent.
Total backlog, an indicator of future revenue, rose to 2,211 homes at quarter's end compared with 1,975 homes in the prior-year period.
Beazer shares rose 21 cents, or 1.3 percent, to $17 in premarket trading.
Beazer has homes in 16 states including Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia.
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