Meritage Homes Corporation (MTH) has reported 12.41 percent rise in profit for the quarter ended Mar. 31, 2017. The company has earned $23.57 million, or $0.56 a share in the quarter, compared with $20.97 million, or $0.50 a share for the same period last year.
Revenue during the quarter grew 12.55 percent to $672.77 million from $597.77 million in the previous year period.
Cost of revenue rose 13.98 percent or $69.04 million during the quarter to $563.01 million. Gross margin for the quarter contracted 105 basis points over the previous year period to 16.32 percent.
Total expenses were $485.07 million for the quarter, up 16 percent or $66.89 million from year-ago period. Operating margin for the quarter contracted 214 basis points over the previous year period to 27.90 percent.
Operating income for the quarter was $187.70 million, compared with $179.59 million in the previous year period.
Revenue from real estate activities during the quarter increased 12.55 percent or $75.01 million to $672.77 million.
"We delivered solid earnings, revenue and order growth for the first quarter of 2017, and are on track to achieve our projections for the year," said Steven J. Hilton, chairman and chief executive officer of Meritage Homes. "We closed more homes in the first quarter than we did a year ago, which resulted in an 11% increase in home closing revenue, despite beginning the year with slightly fewer orders in backlog than we had entering 2016. We leveraged that revenue growth by managing overhead expenses to deliver a 27% year-over-year increase in our earnings before taxes."
Operating cash flow remains negativeMeritage Homes Corporation has spent $84.77 million cash to meet operating activities during the quarter as against cash outgo of $81.82 million in the last year period. The company has spent $3.20 million cash to meet investing activities during the quarter as against cash outgo of $3.97 million in the last year period. It has incurred net capital expenditure of $3.19 million on net basis during the quarter, down 18.34 percent or $0.72 million from year ago period.
Cash flow from financing activities was $41.95 million for the quarter as against cash outgo of $4.25 million in the last year period.
Cash and cash equivalents stood at $85.69 million as on Mar. 31, 2017, down 50.23 percent or $86.49 million from $172.18 million on Mar. 31, 2016.
Real estate inventory stood at $2,522.84 million as on Mar. 31, 2017. Net receivables were at $86.23 million as on Mar. 31, 2017, up 42.55 percent or $25.74 million from year-ago. Accounts payable increased 11.87 percent or $14.52 million to $136.80 million on Mar. 31, 2017.
Total assets grew 8.92 percent or $242.03 million to $2,956.55 million on Mar. 31, 2017. On the other hand, total liabilities were at $1,508.18 million as on Mar. 31, 2017, up 5.45 percent or $77.98 million from year-ago.
Return on assets moved up 12 basis points to 0.77 percent in the quarter. At the same time, return on equity moved down 1 basis points to 1.63 percent in the quarter.
Debt moves upTotal debt was at $1,179.92 million as on Mar. 31, 2017, up 5.41 percent or $60.52 million from year-ago. Shareholders equity stood at $1,448.36 million as on Mar. 31, 2017, up 12.77 percent or $164.06 million from year-ago. As a result, debt to equity ratio went down 6 basis points to 0.81 percent in the quarter.
Disclaimer: Please note that this is an auto-generated article. IRIS does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy or completeness of any information and is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such information. IRIS especially states that it has no financial liability whatsoever to any user on account of the use of information provided on its website. For queries contact: editor@irisindia.net
