By Kristena Hansen | Phoenix Business Journal
Shares of Taylor Morrison Home Corp. (NYSE:TMHC) were up 3.6 percent by the end of trading Wednesday following its earnings report released earlier that morning showing a strong finish to 2013. The Scottsdale-based homebuilder, which went public in April, saw its fourth-quarter earnings before income taxes climb by nearly one-third to $121.54 million. Its 42 percent plunge in year-end earnings before taxes was mostly attributed to the costs of its initial public offering that raised about $591 million.
Taylor Morrison doled out nearly $1 billion toward land acquisition and development last year, $302 million of which was spent during the fourth quarter. By the end of the year, the homebuilder had 45,000-plus lots throughout the U.S. and Canada under its control, up from 40,000 or so from a year ago.
Related: Taylor Morrison’s IPO costs hurt earnings
