Lennar’s 4Q profits beat expectations

Miami-based home builder Lennar posted better-than-expected profits in the fourth quarter after cutting costs and boosting earnings on distressed investments. The company, which continues to defy trends in an industry that’s struggling to compete with discounted bank-owned homes and to keep demand up amid high unemployment, took in $32 million in income during the quarter, or roughly 17 cents per share, it said. Last year, Lennar posted profits of $35.6 million, or 19 cents per share on the heels of a $320 million tax break. Analysts from Bloomberg had predicted earnings of 1 cent per share for the fourth quarter of 2010. “We do not know how long they can keep up this treadmill, which makes us nervous, but kudos again this quarter,” said analyst Stephen East of Ticonderoga Securities. “We are confident that 2011 will be another profitable year,” Stuart Miller, Lennar’s CEO, said in a statement. [Bloomberg]

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