Closings up 6%, new orders up 20%, backlog up 1%.
Builder
Meritage Homes Corporation, Scottsdale (NYSE:MTH) on Thursday reported net earnings of $35.6 million ($0.87 per diluted share) for the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31, 2017, compared to $51.8 million ($1.22 per diluted share) in the 2016 quarter.
The gain was narrowed by a $19.7 million charge in the fourth quarter of 2017 associated with a revaluation of the company’s deferred tax asset, reflecting the impact of a lower corporate tax rate enacted by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act in December 2017 and effective beginning in 2018, as well as the expiration of energy tax credits which benefited the Company’s effective tax rate in 2016.