Lennar Profit Rises 26 Percent on Higher Home Sales

Lennar, the No.2 U.S. homebuilder by volume, reported better-than-expected quarterly profit and revenue as it sold more homes at higher prices.

Lennar said on Monday that orders, a key indicator of future revenue for homebuilders, rose 10.3 percent across all regions, except Houston, in the third quarter.

Orders in Houston, which accounts for about 10 percent of Lennar's homebuilding revenue, fell 12 percent.

U.S. building permits rose 3.5 percent in August to a 1.17 million-unit pace, after declining 15.5 percent in July, while housing starts remained above the 1 million-unit pace for the fifth straight month, Commerce Department data showed last week.

The net income attributable to Lennar rose to $223.3 million, or 96 cents per share, in the quarter ended Aug. 31 from $177.8 million, or 78 cents per share, a year earlier.

Total revenue rose 24 percent to $2.49 billion.

Analysts on average had expected earnings of 79 cents per share and revenue of $2.41 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Lennar's shares closed at $51.75 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

Up to Friday's close, the stock had risen 15.5 percent this year, while the Dow Jones Home Construction Index had risen 14 percent.

(Reporting by Ankit Ajmera in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel and Kirti Pandey)