By Helen Chernikoff
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Homebuilder Lennar Corp
Helped by a tax benefit of $11 million, Lennar posted earnings of $39.7 million, or 21 cents a share, for the second quarter that ended May 31, compared with a loss of $125.2 million, or 76 cents per share, a year earlier.
Analysts had predicted the company would break even, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.
Orders disappointed Wall Street's expectations, however, falling 10 percent versus an expected rise of 13 percent, said FBN Securities analyst Joel Locker.
The entire order decline occurred in May after the federal home buyer tax credit expired, the company said in a statement.
"This is another leg down," Locker said. "June is going to be similar to May."
Revenue fell 9 percent to $814.5 million as deliveries were off 8 percent.
"During the second quarter, we continued to see a housing market that was trying to stabilize," Chief Executive Stuart Miller said in a statement. "As expected, this stabilization was impacted by the expiration of the federal home buyer tax credit at the end of April."
Lennar's experience in May matches the national numbers. Sales of new U.S. homes dropped a record 32.7 percent to the lowest level ever as the boost from the tax credit faded, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.
Miller said demand would recover in the second half of the year on home prices that have fallen dramatically since housing's boom years and low interest rates, but Locker does not agree.
"There's no job creation," he said. "There's no demand for the foreseeable future unless you see job turnaround."
Lennar shares were down 0.9 percent at $14.60 in premarket trading.
Miami-based Lennar is the third-largest U.S. homebuilder, with operations in 14 states.
(Reporting by Helen Chernikoff; editing by John Wallace and Maureen Bavdek)
