Toll Brothers (TOL), the nation’s largest luxury homebuilder, reported a 65% drop in its net income for fiscal year 2013 versus fiscal year 2012, following a fourth quarter that beat estimates, but was still down from last year.
The firm’s fiscal-year 2013 earnings declined to $170.6 million, or $0.97 per share diluted, compared to earnings of $487.1 million, or $2.86 per share diluted, for fiscal year 2012.
Fourth-quarter earnings for 2013 were $94.9 million, or $0.54 per share diluted, compared to $411.4 million, or $2.35 per share, in fiscal year 2012.
A tax benefit in the fourth quarter of last year could account for some of the disparity.
Toll Brothers’ deferred-tax asset valuation allowance reversal was $394.7 million for the fourth quarter of 2012, versus $4.6 million for their fourth quarter in 2013.
Douglas Yearley, chief executive officer for Toll Brothers, focused on the positive growth the company saw in 2013.
“With revenues and contracts up over 40%, backlog up over 50% and operating income up over 200%, fiscal year 2013 was an excellent year for Toll Brothers,” Yearling said.
Fourth quarter 2013 revenues rose 65% to $1.04 billion compared to the fourth quarter of 2012, with a 36% increase in units to 1,485 deliveries.
The average price of homes delivered rose to $703,000 in the fourth quarter, topping $651,000 in the third quarter of 2013 and $582,000 in the fourth quarter last year.