Meritage Homes Q1 Profit Rises - Quick Facts

(RTTNews) - Meritage Homes Corp. (MTH) reported first quarter net earnings per share of $1.83 compared to $0.65, a year ago. On average, seven analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected the company to report profit per share of $1.28, for the quarter. Analysts' estimates typically exclude special items.

First quarter home closing revenue was $890.42 million, a 27 percent increase over prior year. Analysts expected revenue of $799.94 million for the quarter. Total orders for the first quarter increased 23% year-over-year, driven by a 35% year-over-year increase in absorptions.

"We ended the first quarter with nearly $800 million in cash and over a billion dollars of total liquidity, and a low net debt-to-capital ratio of under 27%. After the early redemption of our 2020 senior notes last December, our earliest debt maturity is in 2022," said Steven Hilton, CEO of Meritage Homes.