D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI), America's Builder, today reported that net income per common share attributable to D.R. Horton for its first fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2023 increased 2% to $2.82 per diluted share compared to $2.76 per diluted share in the same quarter of fiscal 2023.
Net income attributable to D.R. Horton in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 decreased 1% to $947.4 million compared to $958.7 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2023. Consolidated revenues in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 increased 6% to $7.7 billion compared to $7.3 billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2023.
Net cash used in operations was $153.4 million during the three months ended December 31, 2023. The Company's consolidated cash balance at December 31, 2023 was $3.3 billion and available capacity on its credit facilities was $3.1 billion, for total liquidity of $6.4 billion. Debt at December 31, 2023 totaled $5.3 billion, with no senior note maturities in fiscal 2024. The Company's debt to total capital ratio at December 31, 2023 was 18.6%. Debt to total capital ratio consists of notes payable divided by stockholders' equity plus notes payable.
The Company's return on equity (ROE) was 21.8% for the trailing twelve months ended December 31, 2023, and homebuilding return on inventory (ROI) was 29.0% for the same period. ROE is calculated as net income attributable to D.R. Horton for the trailing twelve months divided by average stockholders' equity, where average stockholders' equity is the sum of ending stockholders' equity balances of the trailing five quarters divided by five. Homebuilding ROI is calculated as homebuilding pre-tax income for the trailing twelve months divided by average inventory, where average inventory is the sum of ending homebuilding inventory balances for the trailing five quarters divided by five.
Donald R. Horton, Chairman of the Board, said, 'The D.R. Horton team delivered solid results in the first fiscal quarter of 2024, highlighted by earnings of $2.82 per diluted share. Consolidated pre-tax income for the quarter was $1.2 billion on a 6% increase in revenues to $7.7 billion, with a pre-tax profit margin of 16.1%. Although inflation and mortgage interest rates remain elevated, our net sales orders increased 35% from the prior year quarter, as the supply of both new and existing homes at affordable price points remains limited, and demographics supporting housing demand remain favorable.
'We are well-positioned to meet changing market conditions with our affordable product offerings and flexible lot supply and are focused on turning our inventory to maximize returns and capital efficiency in each of our communities. Our strong balance sheet, liquidity and low leverage provide us with significant financial flexibility, and we plan to maintain our disciplined approach to investing capital to enhance the long-term value of our company, including returning capital to our shareholders through both dividends and share repurchases on a consistent basis.'
Homebuilding Operations
Homebuilding revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 increased 8% to $7.3 billion compared to $6.7 billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2023. Homes closed in the quarter increased 12% to 19,340 homes compared to 17,340 homes closed in the same quarter of fiscal 2023. Homebuilding pre-tax income in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 was $1.1 billion with a pre-tax profit margin of 15.0% compared to $1.1 billion of pre-tax income and a 16.2% pre-tax profit margin in the same quarter of fiscal 2023.
Net sales orders for the first quarter ended December 31, 2023 increased 35% to 18,069 homes and 38% in value to $6.8 billion compared to 13,382 homes and $4.9 billion in the same quarter of the prior year. The Company's cancellation rate (cancelled sales orders divided by gross sales orders) for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 was 19% compared to 27% in the prior year quarter. The Company's sales order backlog of homes under contract at December 31, 2023 decreased 11% to 13,965 homes and 12% in value to $5.4 billion compared to 15,759 homes and $6.2 billion at December 31, 2022.
At December 31, 2023, the Company had 42,600 homes in inventory, of which 28,800 were unsold. 9,000 of the Company's unsold homes at December 31, 2023 were completed, of which 730 had been completed for greater than six months. The Company's homebuilding land and lot portfolio totaled 607,200 lots at the end of the quarter, of which 24% were owned and 76% were controlled through land and lot purchase contracts.
Rental Operations
The Company's rental operations generated $31.3 million of pre-tax income on revenues of $195.3 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared to $110.3 million of pre-tax income on revenues of $327.5 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2023.
During the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the Company sold 379 single-family rental homes for $116.1 million compared to 694 homes sold for $228.0 million in the prior year quarter. At December 31, 2023, the consolidated balance sheet included $1.4 billion of single-family rental property inventory consisting of 5,820 homes, of which 4,920 were completed, and 2,980 lots, of which 1,045 were finished.
During the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the Company sold 300 multi-family rental units for $79.2 million compared to 300 units sold for $99.5 million in the prior year quarter. At December 31, 2023, the consolidated balance sheet included $1.6 billion of multi-family rental property inventory consisting of 10,200 units, of which 8,070 units were under active construction and 2,130 units were completed.
Forestar
Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE:FOR) ('Forestar') is a publicly traded residential lot development company that is a majority-owned subsidiary of D.R. Horton. Forestar's results of operations for the periods presented are fully consolidated in the Company's financial statements with the percentage not owned by the Company reported as noncontrolling interests.
For the first quarter ended December 31, 2023, Forestar sold 3,150 lots and generated $305.9 million of revenue compared to 2,263 lots and $216.7 million of revenue in the prior year quarter. Forestar's pre-tax income in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 was $51.2 million with a pre-tax profit margin of 16.7% compared to $27.9 million of pre-tax income and a 12.9% pre-tax profit margin in the same quarter of fiscal 2023.
Financial Services
For the first quarter ended December 31, 2023, financial services revenues were $192.6 million compared to $137.0 million in the same quarter of fiscal 2023. Financial services pre-tax income for the quarter was $66.0 million with a pre-tax profit margin of 34.3% compared to $18.2 million of pre-tax income and a 13.3% pre-tax profit margin in the prior year quarter.
Dividends
During the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the Company paid cash dividends of $99.9 million. Subsequent to quarter end, the Company declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.30 per common share that is payable on February 13, 2024 to stockholders of record on February 6, 2024.
Share Repurchases
The Company repurchased 3.3 million shares of common stock for $398.3 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2024. The Company's remaining stock repurchase authorization at December 31, 2023 was $1.3 billion.
Guidance
Based on current market conditions and the Company's results for the first quarter of fiscal 2024, D.R. Horton is updating its fiscal 2024 guidance as follows:
Consolidated revenues of approximately $36.0 billion to $37.3 billion
Homes closed by homebuilding operations of 87,000 homes to 90,000 homes
Income tax rate of approximately 24.0% The Company is also reiterating its fiscal 2024 guidance as follows:
Cash flow provided by homebuilding operations of approximately $3.0 billion
Share repurchases of approximately $1.5 billion
The Company plans to also provide guidance for its second quarter of fiscal 2024 on its conference call today.
Conference Call and Webcast Details
The Company will host a conference call today (Tuesday, January 23) at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The dial-in number is 888-506-0062 (reference entry code 566897), and the call will also be webcast from the Company's website at investor.drhorton.com.
About D.R. Horton, Inc.
D.R. Horton, Inc., America's Builder, has been the largest homebuilder by volume in the United States since 2002 and has closed more than 1,000,000 homes in its 45-year history. D.R. Horton has operations in 118 markets in 33 states across the United States and is engaged in the construction and sale of high-quality homes through its diverse product portfolio with sales prices generally ranging from $200,000 to over $1,000,000. The Company also constructs and sells both single-family and multi-family rental properties. During the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2023, D.R. Horton closed 84,917 homes in its homebuilding operations, in addition to 5,860 single-family rental homes and 2,112 multi-family rental units in its rental operations. D.R. Horton also provides mortgage financing, title services and insurance agency services for its homebuyers and is the majority-owner of Forestar Group Inc., a publicly traded national residential lot development company.
Forward-Looking Statements
Portions of this document may constitute 'forward-looking statements' as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although D.R. Horton believes any such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that actual outcomes will not be materially different. All forward-looking statements are based upon information available to D.R. Horton on the date this release was issued. D.R. Horton does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this release include that we are well-positioned to meet changing market conditions with our affordable product offerings and flexible lot supply and are focused on turning our inventory to maximize returns and capital efficiency in each of our communities and that our strong balance sheet, liquidity and low leverage provide us with significant financial flexibility, and we plan to maintain our disciplined approach to investing capital to enhance the long-term value of our company, including returning capital to our shareholders through both dividends and share repurchases on a consistent basis. The forward-looking statements also include all commentary in the Guidance section.
Factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from the future results expressed by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the cyclical nature of the homebuilding, rental and lot development industries and changes in economic, real estate or other conditions; adverse developments affecting the capital markets and financial institutions, which could limit our ability to access capital and increase our cost of capital and impact our liquidity and capital resources; reductions in the availability of mortgage financing provided by government agencies, changes in government financing programs, a decrease in our ability to sell mortgage loans on attractive terms or an increase in mortgage interest rates; the risks associated with our land, lot and rental inventory; our ability to effect our growth strategies, acquisitions, investments or other strategic initiatives successfully; the impact of an inflationary, deflationary or higher interest rate environment; supply shortages and other risks of acquiring land, building materials and skilled labor and obtaining regulatory approvals; the effects of public health issues such as a major epidemic or pandemic on the economy and our businesses; the effects of weather conditions and natural disasters on our business and financial results; home warranty and construction defect claims; the effects of health and safety incidents; reductions in the availability of performance bonds; increases in the costs of owning a home; the effects of information technology failures, data security breaches, and the failure to satisfy privacy and data protection laws and regulations; the effects of governmental regulations and environmental matters on our homebuilding and land development operations; the effects of governmental regulations on our financial services operations; competitive conditions within the industries in which we operate; our ability to manage and service our debt and comply with related debt covenants, restrictions and limitations; the effects of negative publicity; the effects of the loss of key personnel and actions by activist stockholders. Additional information about issues that could lead to material changes in performance is contained in D.R. Horton's annual report on Form 10-K and its most recent quarterly report on Form-10-Q, both of which are or will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Contact:
Jessica Hansen
Tel: 817-390-8200
DR HORTON 
