PHM PulteGroup Inc

By Joshua Jamerson 

Home builder PulteGroup Inc. posted better-than-expected earnings and revenue growth in the fourth quarter as orders and closings climbed.

Shares, down 9.8% in the past 12 months as of Wednesday's close, climbed 7.6% to $17.30 in premarket trading.

Builders have been confident in recent quarters that home buyers will return to the housing market, drawn by an improved job market, higher rental costs and low interest rates.

Chairman and Chief Executive Richard J. Dugas Jr. said Thursday that while global economic concerns have created greater market volatility, the company's results reflect "the favorable demand environment we continue to experience within the housing industry."

For the three months ended Dec. 31, PulteGroup reported that net new home orders climbed 13% as closings increased 7% from a year earlier. Its backlog grew 15% to 6,731 homes, and the backlog's value rose 26% to $2.5 billion--its highest year-end value since 2007.

Home sales revenue grew 12% as average selling price increased across each of its three national brands.

Mr. Dugas also said the results would provide momentum for strong earnings growth in 2016.

For the quarter, PulteGroup reported profit of $228 million, or 64 cents a share, up from $217 million, or 58 cents a share, in the year-earlier period.

Revenue grew 13% to $2.06 billion. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of 49 cents a share on revenue of $1.86 billion.

Write to Joshua Jamerson at joshua.jamerson@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 28, 2016 09:13 ET (14:13 GMT)

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