Pulte 1Q Up 20%

Bloomfield Hills, MI, April 27, 2006–Home builder Pulte Homes said first-quarter earnings climbed 20% as the company moved more homes than in the year-ago period.

The company said quarterly net income totaled $262.6 million, or $1.01 a share, versus $218.2 million, or 83 cents a share, last year. Revenue for the quarter was $2.96 billion, up 18% from $2.52 billion in the year-earlier quarter.

Wall Street analysts were expecting profit of $248.8 million, or 96 cents a share, on revenue of $3.04 billion, according to a survey compiled by Thomson First Call.

Home closings rose 7% to 8,602, with an average selling price of $336,000, an increase of 9%.

New home orders for the quarter totaled 10,725 units, down 11%.

The company’s ending backlog was $7.1 billion, compared with $6.5 billion last year.