DR Horton beats and raises its revenue forecast (DHI)

(Reuters) - D.R. Horton Inc reported a quarterly profit that beat analysts' estimates on Thursday, driven by higher home sales, and the largest U.S. homebuilder raised its revenue forecast for the year.An improving job market continues to fuel demand for housing in the United States. Mortgage rates are now climbing higher but are still near historic lows.Orders, an indicator of future revenue for homebuilders, rose 13.8 percent to 13,991 homes in the second quarter ended March 31.The Fort Worth, Texas-based company raised its 2017 revenue forecast to $13.6 billion-$14.0 billion from $13.4 billion-$13.8 billion.D.R. Horton said it expects to sell 44,500-46,000 homes, compared with its previous forecast of 43,500-45,500 homes."The spring selling season is going well," Chairman Donald Horton said.The homebuilder, which mainly sells single-family homes, said it sold 10,685 homes in the quarter, up from 9,262 in the year-earlier period.The company's net income rose to $229.2 million, or 60 cents per share, from $195.1 million, or 52 cents per share.Home sales rose 17.6 percent to $3.16 billion.Analysts on average had expected a profit of 59 cents per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.Up to Wednesday's close, the company's shares had risen 24.2 percent since the start of the year.(Reporting by Arunima Banerjee in Bengaluru; Edited by Martina D'Couto)SEE ALSO:State-owned property developers are a major force behind China's wild home price bubbleJoin the conversation about this storyNOW WATCH: Here's the surprising reason highways have those concrete walls alongside them
Click here to read full news..