America’s Horton back in profit

American house builder D. R. Horton has reported first quarter sales to 31 December 2009 of US$ 1.1 billion, up +23% on the US$ 900 million recorded for the same period last year. Following a first quarter pre-tax loss of -US$ 61.3 million last year, the company recorded a pre-tax profit of US$ 42.8 million for the first quarter of the 2010 financial year.

Chairman, Donald Horton said, "We are excited to report a quarterly pre-tax profit. Our sales orders also show a significant improvement from one year ago, increasing +45%.

"Our focus on providing affordable homes positioned us to take advantage of the demand created by the federal tax credit for first-time home buyers, and we believe the extension of the tax credit will benefit our spring selling season too," he said.

"Market conditions in the homebuilding industry are still challenging, however, new home inventory remains low, interest rates are favourable and housing affordability is near record highs. We will continue to focus on providing affordable homes for the first-time buyer while controlling our costs and maintaining a strong balance sheet," he said.