Trip Group Unites Partners To Drive Growth And Explore New Opportunities At The 2024 Global Partner SummitMinnesota will try to bounce back from two straight losses when it hosts Bethune-Cookman on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis. The Golden Gophers (5-3) are coming off a 57-51 loss against Wake Forest on Friday, which followed a 68-66 overtime loss against Wichita State on Thursday. Both games took place at the ESPN Events Invitational in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Minnesota coach Ben Johnson cited inconsistency on offense as the main reason for his team's recent skid. "We're painfully figuring that out," Johnson said. "I thought our defense, though, (Thursday and Friday) has proven this is a top-40 or top-30 defense. We've got to be able to show up with offense and free throws." Golden Gophers starter Lu'Cye Patterson said he and his teammates remain confident in their potential as the Big Ten conference season approaches. "We just have to keep doing what we're supposed to do and keep our level of defensive play up," Patterson said. "It's going to win us a lot of games. The offense is going to come." Bethune-Cookman (2-5) will try to play spoiler on the road. The Wildcats have split their past two games as they beat North Dakota 79-67 on Tuesday and lost to Gardner-Webb 79-64 on Wednesday, both games played in the Cancun Challenge in Cancun, Mexico. Four players for Bethune-Cookman scored in double digits in their most recent game. Reggie Ward Jr. and Daniel Rouzan led the way with 14 points apiece, Trey Thomas scored 13 and Brayon Freeman chipped in 10. Bethune-Cookman is coached by Reggie Theus, who enjoyed a long NBA career and coached the Sacramento Kings for parts of two seasons. Theus said the Wildcats were in better position to compete this season compared with a season ago. "We've got a lot of depth, and we have age and experience," Theus said. "One of the biggest differences in our team is that we have great size now, where last year we were pretty small." Dawson Garcia leads Minnesota with 18.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Patterson is next with 10.1 points per contest. Bethune-Cookman is led by Freeman, who is averaging 15.9 points per game. Thomas (11.7 points per game) and Ward Jr. (11.0) also are scoring in double digits. --Field Level MediaINCLINE VILLAGE, Nev., Dec. 18, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tri Pointe Homes, Inc. (the “Company”) (NYSE:TPH) today announced that its Board of Directors has approved a new stock repurchase program authorizing the repurchase of up to $250 million of common stock through December 31, 2025 (the “Repurchase Program”), which succeeds the stock repurchase program that the Board of Directors authorized in December 2023 (the “2024 Repurchase Program”). For the fourth quarter through December 17, 2024, under the 2024 Repurchase Program, the Company repurchased 1,202,913 shares of common stock at a weighted average price per share of $41.57 for an aggregate dollar amount of $50.0 million. For the full year through December 17, 2024, under the 2024 Repurchase Program, the Company repurchased 3,964,537 shares of common stock at a weighted average price per share of $36.97 for an aggregate dollar amount of $146.6 million. Purchases of common stock pursuant to the Repurchase Program may be made in open market transactions effected through a broker-dealer at prevailing market prices, in block trades, or by other means in accordance with federal securities laws, including pursuant to any trading plan that may be adopted in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The Company is not obligated under the Repurchase Program to repurchase any specific number or dollar amount of shares of common stock, and it may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Repurchase Program at any time. Company management will determine the timing and amount of any repurchases in its discretion based on a variety of factors, such as the market price of the Company’s common stock, corporate requirements, general market economic conditions, legal requirements, and applicable tax effects. About Tri Pointe Homes® One of the largest homebuilders in the U.S., Tri Pointe Homes, Inc. (NYSE: TPH) is a publicly traded company operating in 12 states and the District of Columbia, and is a recognized leader in customer experience, innovative design, and environmentally responsible business practices. The company builds premium homes and communities with deep ties to the communities it serves—some for as long as a century. Tri Pointe Homes combines the financial resources, technology platforms and proven leadership of a national organization with the regional insights, longstanding community connections and agility of empowered local teams. Tri Pointe has won multiple Builder of the Year awards, was named to the 2024 Fortune World’s Most Admired CompaniesTM list, is one of the 2023 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For® and was designated as one of the PEOPLE Companies That Care® in 2023 and 2024. The company was also named as a Great Place To Work-CertifiedTM company for four years in a row (2021 through 2024), and was named on several Great Place to Work ® Best Workplaces lists (2022 through 2024). For more information, please visit TriPointeHomes.com . Forward-Looking Statements Various statements contained in this press release, including those that express a belief, expectation or intention, as well as those that are not statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, statements regarding our strategy, projections and estimates concerning the timing and success of specific projects and our future production, land and lot sales, operational and financial results, including our estimates for growth, financial condition, sales prices, prospects, and capital spending. Forward-looking statements that are included in this press release are generally accompanied by words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “future,” “goal,” “guidance,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “might,” “outlook,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “should,” “strategy,” “target,” “will,” “would,” or other words that convey future events or outcomes. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release, and we disclaim any obligation to update these statements unless required by law, and we caution you not to rely on them unduly. These forward-looking statements are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, regulatory and other risks, contingencies and uncertainties, most of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control. The following factors, among others, may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements: the effects of general economic conditions, including employment rates, housing starts, interest rate levels, home affordability, inflation, consumer sentiment, availability of financing for home mortgages and strength of the U.S. dollar; market demand for our products, which is related to the strength of the various U.S. business segments and U.S. and international economic conditions; the availability of desirable and reasonably priced land and our ability to control, purchase, hold and develop such parcels; access to adequate capital on acceptable terms; geographic concentration of our operations; levels of competition; the successful execution of our internal performance plans, including restructuring and cost reduction initiatives; the prices and availability of supply chain inputs, including raw materials, labor and home components; oil and other energy prices; the effects of U.S. trade policies, including the imposition of tariffs and duties on homebuilding products and retaliatory measures taken by other countries; the effects of weather, including the occurrence of drought conditions in parts of the western United States; the risk of loss from earthquakes, volcanoes, fires, floods, droughts, windstorms, hurricanes, pest infestations and other natural disasters, and the risk of delays, reduced consumer demand, and shortages and price increases in labor or materials associated with such natural disasters; the risk of loss from acts of war, terrorism, civil unrest or public health emergencies, including outbreaks of contagious disease, such as COVID-19; transportation costs; federal and state tax policies; the effects of land use, environment and other governmental laws and regulations; legal proceedings or disputes and the adequacy of reserves; risks relating to any unforeseen changes to or effects on liabilities, future capital expenditures, revenues, expenses, earnings, synergies, indebtedness, financial condition, losses and future prospects; changes in accounting principles; risks related to unauthorized access to our computer systems, theft of our homebuyers’ confidential information or other forms of cyber-attack; and additional factors discussed under the sections captioned “Risk Factors” included in our annual and quarterly reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The foregoing list is not exhaustive. New risk factors may emerge from time to time and it is not possible for management to predict all such risk factors or to assess the impact of such risk factors on our business. Investor Relations Contact: InvestorRelations@TriPointeHomes.com, 949-478-8696 Media Contact: Carol Ruiz, cruiz@newgroundco.com, 310-437-0045'They love their food': why teaching the next generation of guide dogs is harder than you think
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2024 Fourth Quarter Highlights– comparisons to the prior year quarter 2024 Fiscal Year Highlights - comparisons to prior year MIAMI , Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN and LEN.B) , one of the nation's largest homebuilders, today reported results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended November 30, 2024 . Fourth quarter net earnings attributable to Lennar in 2024 were $1.1 billion , or $4.06 per diluted share, compared to $1.4 billion , or $4.82 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2023. Excluding mark-to-market gains on technology investments, fourth quarter net earnings attributable to Lennar in 2024 were $1.1 billion , or $4.03 per diluted share, compared to fourth quarter net earnings attributable to Lennar in 2023 of $1.5 billion , or $5.17 per diluted share, excluding mark-to-market losses on technology investments and other one-time items (collectively, "adjustments"). Net earnings attributable to Lennar for the year ended November 30, 2024 were $3.9 billion , or $14.31 per diluted share, compared to $3.9 billion , or $13.73 per diluted share for the year ended November 30, 2023 . Excluding adjustments, net earnings attributable to Lennar for the year ended November 30, 2024 were $3.8 billion , or $13.86 per diluted share, compared to $4.1 billion , or $14.25 per diluted share for the year ended November 30, 2023 . Stuart Miller , Executive Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Lennar, said, "In the course of our fourth quarter, the housing market that appeared to be improving as the Fed cut short-term interest rates, proved to be far more challenging as mortgage rates rose almost 100 basis points through the quarter. Even while demand remained strong, and the chronic supply shortage continued to drive the market, our results were driven by affordability limitations from higher interest rates." "Accordingly, in our fourth quarter, sales pace lagged expectations as interest rates climbed and our new orders fell short of expectations to 16,895 homes vs the low end of our guidance of 19,000 homes. Consistent with our strategy of matching sales pace with production, we adjusted sales price, incentives, and margin in order to re-ignite sales and actively manage inventory levels. We ended the quarter with two completed, unsold homes per community, which was within our historical range." "In the fourth quarter, earnings were $1.1 billion , or $4.06 per diluted share. We delivered 22,206 homes in the quarter and our average sales price, net of incentives, per home delivered was $430,000 in the fourth quarter, slightly down from last year. Our homebuilding gross margin in the fourth quarter was 22.1%, with SG&A expenses of 7.2%, resulting in a 14.9% net margin." "Driven by our consistent focus on cash flow, we constructively allocated capital while we continued to strengthen and fortify our balance sheet. During the quarter, we repurchased $521 million of our common stock, had no outstanding borrowings on our $2.9 billion revolving credit facility and cash of $4.7 billion , ending the quarter with homebuilding debt to total capital of 7.5%. With cash on hand exceeding our debt, and with overall liquidity of approximately $7.6 billion , our balance sheet remains extremely strong." "Against this backdrop, we continue to remain focused on our volume-based strategy of driving sales and cash flow while using margin as a shock absorber as we continue to migrate to an asset-light, land-light business model. This strategy is reflected in both the public filing of a registration statement on Form S-11 for the planned spin-off of Millrose Properties, Inc., as well as our previously announced acquisition of Rausch Coleman Homes as we focus on growing to drive affordability and fill the supply gap that is reflected in the marketplace." Jon Jaffe , Co-Chief Executive Officer and President of Lennar, said, "Operationally, our starts pace and sales pace were 4.6 homes and 4.2 homes per community in the fourth quarter, respectively, as we continue to move closer to an even flow operating model. Our cycle time was down to 138 days, or 14% lower year over year, as our production first focus has positively impacted our production times, while our inventory turn improved to 1.6 times reflecting broader efficiencies. Concurrently, the Lennar Marketing and Sales Machine continued to carefully match our sales pace to our production pace using our digital marketing and dynamic pricing models." "During the quarter, we continued the migration to our land light strategy. This was evidenced by our years supply of owned homesites improving to 1.1 years from 1.4 years last year and our controlled homesite percentage increasing to 82% from 76% year over year, resulting in a return on inventory of 29.2%." Mr. Miller concluded, "As we look ahead, we expect to deliver between 17,000 and 17,500 homes for the first quarter of 2025 and between 86,000 and 88,000 homes for the full year 2025, including the impact of the Rausch Coleman acquisition. While we remain optimistic that margins will normalize as affordability normalizes and our cost structure benefits from our volume, we expect our gross margin in the first quarter to be between 19.0% and 19.25%, and at this time, we will not guide to full year gross margin until we have a better sense of market conditions as the year unfolds." RESULTS OF OPERATIONS THREE MONTHS ENDED NOVEMBER 30, 2024 COMPARED TO THREE MONTHS ENDED NOVEMBER 30, 2023 Homebuilding Revenues from home sales decreased 9% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to $9.5 billion from $10.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023. Revenues were lower primarily due to a 7% decrease in the number of home deliveries and a 3% decrease in the average sales price of homes delivered. New home deliveries decreased to 22,206 homes in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 23,795 homes in the fourth quarter of 2023. The average sales price of homes delivered was $430,000 in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $441,000 in the fourth quarter of 2023. The decrease in average sales price of homes delivered in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year was primarily due to pricing to market through an increased use of incentives and product mix. Gross margins on home sales were $2.1 billion , or 22.1%, in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $2.5 billion, or 24.2%, in the fourth quarter of 2023. During the fourth quarter of 2024, gross margins decreased primarily because revenue per square foot decreased while land costs increased year over year, which was partially offset by a decrease in costs per square foot due to lower costs of materials as the Company continued to focus on construction cost savings. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $682 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $688 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. As a percentage of revenues from home sales, selling, general and administrative expenses increased to 7.2% in the fourth quarter of 2024, from 6.6% in the fourth quarter of 2023, primarily due to less leverage as a result of both lower volume and average sales price. Financial Services Operating earnings for the Financial Services segment were $154 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $168 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The decrease in operating earnings was primarily due to lower profit per loan in the Company's mortgage business. Other Ancillary Businesses Operating loss for the Multifamily segment was $0.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to operating loss of $12 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Operating earnings for the Lennar Other segment were $0.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to an operating loss of $125 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Lennar Other operating earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024 were primarily due to positive mark-to-market adjustments of $13 million on the Company's publicly traded technology investments, which was partially offset by other operating losses. The Lennar Other operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2023 was primarily due to negative mark-to-market adjustments of $36 million on the Company's publicly traded technology investments and a $65 million write-off of one of the Company's non-public technology investments. Tax Rate For the quarters ended November 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company had a tax provision of $358 million and $417 million , which resulted in an overall effective income tax rate of 24.6% and 23.4%, respectively. For both periods, the Company's effective income tax rate included state income tax expense and non-deductible executive compensation, partially offset by tax credits. The increase in the effective tax rate from the prior year for the three months ended November 30, 2024 was primarily due to additional state income tax expense. OTHER TRANSACTIONS Credit Facility In November 2024 , the Company amended and restated the credit agreement governing its unsecured revolving credit facility (the "Credit Facility") to, among other things, increase the lenders' commitments to $2.875 billion until May 2027 when this amount will be reduced to $2.650 billion until final maturity in November 2029 . As of November 30, 2024 , there were no outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facility. Share Repurchases During the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company repurchased 3 million shares of its common stock for $521 million at an average per share price of $173.79 . Liquidity At November 30, 2024, the Company had $4.7 billion of Homebuilding cash and cash equivalents and no outstanding borrowings under its $2.9 billion Credit Facility, thereby providing approximately $7.6 billion of available capacity. Guidance The following are the Company's expected results of its homebuilding and financial services activities: First Quarter 2025 New Orders 17,500 - 18,000 Deliveries 17,000 - 17,500 Average Sales Price $410,000 - $415,000 Gross Margin % on Home Sales 19.0% - 19.25% S,G&A as a % of Home Sales 8.7% - 8.8% Financial Services Operating Earnings $100 million - $110 million About Lennar Lennar Corporation, founded in 1954, is one of the nation's leading builders of quality homes for all generations. Lennar builds affordable, move-up and active adult homes primarily under the Lennar brand name. Lennar's Financial Services segment provides mortgage financing, title and closing services primarily for buyers of Lennar's homes and, through LMF Commercial, originates mortgage loans secured primarily by commercial real estate properties throughout the United States . Lennar's Multifamily segment is a nationwide developer of high-quality multifamily rental properties. LEN X drives Lennar's technology, innovation and strategic investments. For more information about Lennar, please visit www.lennar.com . Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Some of the statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements relating to the homebuilding market and other markets in which we participate, as well as our expected results and guidance. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. Rather, forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected events, activities, trends or results. Accordingly, these forward-looking statements should be evaluated with consideration given to the many risks and uncertainties inherent in our business that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements. We wish to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement and speak only as of the date made. Important factors that could cause differences between anticipated and actual results include slowdowns in real estate markets in regions where we have significant Homebuilding or Multifamily development activities; decreased demand for our homes, or for Multifamily rental apartments or single family homes; the potential impact of inflation; the impact of increased cost of mortgage financing for homebuyers, increased or continued high interest rates or increased competition in the mortgage industry; supply shortages and increased costs related to construction materials, including lumber, and labor; the possibility that increased tariffs will increase the cost of production materials; cost increases related to real estate taxes and insurance; the effect of increased interest rates with regard to our funds' borrowings on the willingness of the funds to invest in new projects; reductions in the market value of our investments in public companies; natural disasters or catastrophic events for which our insurance may not provide adequate coverage; our inability to successfully execute our strategies and our planned spin-off on the timelines expected or at all; a decline in the value of the land and home inventories we maintain and resulting possible future writedowns of the carrying value of our real estate assets; the forfeiture of deposits related to land purchase options we decide not to exercise; the effects of public health issues such as a major epidemic or pandemic that could have a negative impact on the economy and on our businesses; possible unfavorable outcomes in legal proceedings; conditions in the capital, credit and financial markets; harm to our business from information technology failures and data security breaches; changes in laws, regulations or the regulatory environment affecting our business; policy changes that may be introduced by the new administration that could affect economic conditions, tax regimes and regulatory frameworks, and the other risks and uncertainties described in our filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on January 26, 2024 , as amended by our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A filed on April 25, 2024 , and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. A conference call to discuss the Company's fourth quarter earnings will be held at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday , December 19, 2024. The call will be broadcast live on the internet and can be accessed through the Company's website at investors.lennar.com . If you are unable to participate in the conference call, the call will be archived at investors.lennar.com for 90 days. A replay of the conference call will also be available later that day by calling 203-369-0176 and entering 5723593 as the confirmation number. LENNAR CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES Selected Revenues and Operating Information (In thousands, except per share amounts) (unaudited) Three Months Ended Years Ended November 30, November 30, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Revenues: Homebuilding $ 9,548,684 10,516,050 33,906,426 32,660,987 Financial Services 304,550 304,693 1,109,263 976,859 Multifamily 88,917 140,824 411,537 573,485 Lennar Other 4,737 6,616 14,226 22,035 Total revenues $ 9,946,888 10,968,183 35,441,452 34,233,366 Homebuilding operating earnings $ 1,495,383 1,912,639 5,342,252 5,527,707 Financial Services operating earnings 154,476 169,130 577,184 509,461 Multifamily operating earnings (loss) (160) (12,155) 42,635 (50,651) Lennar Other operating earnings (loss) 450 (125,414) (47,967) (209,788) Corporate general and administrative expenses (170,011) (136,336) (648,986) (501,338) Charitable foundation contribution (22,206) (23,795) (80,210) (73,087) Earnings before income taxes 1,457,932 1,784,069 5,184,908 5,202,304 Provision for income taxes (358,058) (416,780) (1,217,253) (1,241,013) Net earnings (including net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests) 1,099,874 1,367,289 3,967,655 3,961,291 Less: Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests 3,660 6,002 35,122 22,780 Net earnings attributable to Lennar $ 1,096,214 1,361,287 3,932,533 3,938,511 Basic and diluted average shares outstanding 267,262 279,438 272,019 283,319 Basic and diluted earnings per share $ 4.06 4.82 14.31 13.73 Supplemental information: Interest incurred (1) $ 29,254 41,434 129,310 187,640 EBIT (2): Net earnings attributable to Lennar $ 1,096,214 1,361,287 3,932,533 3,938,511 Provision for income taxes 358,058 416,780 1,217,253 1,241,013 Interest expense included in: Costs of homes sold 39,513 69,859 160,848 240,871 Costs of land sold 29 156 373 1,588 Homebuilding other income, net 4,472 4,525 18,771 15,434 Total interest expense 44,014 74,540 179,992 257,893 EBIT $ 1,498,286 1,852,607 5,329,778 5,437,417 (1) Amount represents interest incurred related to Homebuilding debt. (2) EBIT is a non-GAAP financial measure defined as earnings before interest and taxes. This financial measure has been presented because the Company finds it important and useful in evaluating its performance and believes that it helps readers of the Company's financial statements compare its operations with those of its competitors. Although management finds EBIT to be an important measure in conducting and evaluating the Company's operations, this measure has limitations as an analytical tool as it is not reflective of the actual profitability generated by the Company during the period. Management compensates for the limitations of using EBIT by using this non-GAAP measure only to supplement the Company's GAAP results. Due to the limitations discussed, EBIT should not be viewed in isolation, as it is not a substitute for GAAP measures. LENNAR CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES Segment Information (In thousands) (unaudited) Three Months Ended Years Ended November 30, November 30, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Homebuilding revenues: Sales of homes $ 9,500,991 10,442,850 33,778,149 32,459,129 Sales of land 39,568 63,501 93,384 109,963 Other homebuilding 8,125 9,699 34,893 91,895 Total revenues 9,548,684 10,516,050 33,906,426 32,660,987 Homebuilding costs and expenses: Costs of homes sold 7,400,266 7,919,724 26,255,353 24,900,470 Costs of land sold 30,162 39,413 73,802 92,142 Selling, general and administrative 682,003 687,774 2,480,309 2,231,033 Total costs and expenses 8,112,431 8,646,911 28,809,464 27,223,645 Homebuilding net margins 1,436,253 1,869,139 5,096,962 5,437,342 Homebuilding equity in earnings (loss) from unconsolidated entities 12,410 9,223 66,448 (3,886) Homebuilding other income, net 46,720 34,277 178,842 94,251 Homebuilding operating earnings $ 1,495,383 1,912,639 5,342,252 5,527,707 Financial Services revenues $ 304,550 304,693 1,109,263 976,859 Financial Services costs and expenses 150,074 135,563 532,079Ireland's centre-right parties close in on re-election
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Rutgers 77, Georgia Southern 60Coastal Carolina 48, Georgia St. 27Children’s Minister Roderic O’Gorman said the party could not buck the trend in Ireland of junior coalition partners in Fine Gael and Fianna Fail governments losing support in subsequent elections. He said they expected to retain two to three seats out of the 12 they had won in the 2020 election on the back of a worldwide “Green wave”. “Undoubtedly it’s a disappointing result for our party today,” Mr O’Gorman told reporters in Ongar, Dublin. “It’s hard for a smaller party in government, that’s long been the tradition, the history in Ireland. We hoped going into the election to buck that but we haven’t been able to buck that today.” Mr O’Gorman, a candidate in Dublin West, is among the outgoing Green Party TDs in a battle to retain their seats. Culture Minister Catherine Martin, who is fighting to remain a Green Party TD for Dublin Rathdown, said it was a “very tight” race in her four-seat constituency. “We go in (to government) not afraid of that because the issue of the climate and biodiversity crisis is (greater) than our survival,” she said on RTE Radio. “I stand over and am proud of our track record of delivery.” Green candidate in Waterford Marc O Cathasaigh said he would not be “in the shake-up” to retain his seat in that constituency, while junior minister Ossian Smyth looks at risk of losing his seat in Dun Laoghaire. Junior minister Joe O’Brien is expected to lose his seat in Dublin Fingal, Neasa Hourigan is at risk in Dublin Central, while Wicklow’s Steven Matthews garnered just 4% of first preferences. Former Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, who announced his retirement from frontline politics in June, said his party had not had a good day. Arriving at the count centre at the RDS in Dublin, the outgoing environment minister told reporters: “If you don’t get elected you accept that, but you come back stronger and you learn lessons, and we’ve done that in the past and we will do that again.” He added: “No matter what the results today there will be a strong Green Party in Ireland, we have deep roots in the community and it’s a very distinct political philosophy and I think there is still space for that in Irish politics, for sure.” Mr Ryan said he did not believe his decision to retire, and the timing of his announcement, had affected the party’s showing. “Unfortunately – and this is just one of those days – we didn’t get the number of votes,” he said. He added: “We’ll look back and see what are the lessons, and what can we learn and what can we do differently. “It’s just one of those days when we didn’t have a good day.
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EL SEGUNDO — Lamar Jackson is the kind of quarterback who has troubled the Chargers. Aw, who are we kidding? He’s the kind of quarterback who troubles everyone in the NFL. He’s a passer. He’s a runner. He’s a playmaker. He’s a destroyer of defenses. “He’s one of one,” Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said Friday. Minter also called Jackson “the most electric quarterback in the history of the National Football League.” Jackson will be the Chargers’ problem this week, when they host the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night at SoFi Stadium. Jackson is another in a string of standout quarterbacks the Chargers will face during what is without question the toughest, most challenging part of their 2024 schedule. The Chargers rallied past Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday night, pulling out a 34-27 victory on a last-minute drive led by Justin Herbert. Now, here comes Jackson, followed quickly by Kirk Cousins of the Atlanta Falcons, followed quickly by Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs. No rest for the weary. No question, Burrow, Jackson, Cousins and Mahomes could wear out a defensive coordinator, causing him to lose sleep. In fact, it’s already happened, as Minter admitted last week while preparing to face Burrow, who led the NFL in passing yardage going into the game, and still does. Jackson (2,876 yards) is second to Burrow (3,028) going into Week 12. Jackson (25) is also second to Burrow (27) in touchdown passes. Jackson (nine) is second to Jared Goff of the Detroit Lions (9.2) in yards per passing attempt. Jackson leads the NFL in passer rating (117.3). No one has passed and run for as many yards as Jackson (3,460). “It’s an ultimate challenge,” Minter said. The Chargers have struggled to contain players with a similar mix of skills to Jackson, including Mahomes, Justin Fields of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Bo Nix of the Denver Broncos. Jackson does it better than the others, and that’s what keeps Minter up late at night, worrying about how to contain the uncontainable. “We’ve played against different types of guys, guys who do different things well,” Minter said. “(Jackson) does everything well. The second you overcommit to where you’re going to have all these eyes on him to run, he’ll throw the ball over your head. There’s no one you can compare him to, he’s one of one.” Plus, Jackson isn’t all the Chargers must worry about Monday. Jackson serves as something akin to a basketball point guard, distributing the football as he sees fit, whether it’s handing it off to bruising running back Derrick Henry, the NFL’s leading rusher with 1,185 yards and 13 touchdowns, or throwing it to wide receiver Zay Flowers or tight end Mark Andrews. Related Articles The Ravens are first in the NFL in net yards per game (430.1) and yards from scrimmage per play (8.64). They are second in points per game (30.4) and net rushing yards per game (177.3). They are third in net passing yards per game (252.8). They also are first in red-zone touchdown percentage (77.8%). The Ravens are 7-4, second in the AFC North. The Chargers are 7-3, second in the AFC West. “The ultimate red-zone weapon because every play can be so many different things,” Minter said of Jackson’s versatility. “High, high level of respect for him, how he works. Just a challenge. You can run to the challenge. You can run from the challenge. We’re going to run to the challenge, meet it head on, put our best stuff out there and see what happens.”2024 Fourth Quarter Highlights– comparisons to the prior year quarter 2024 Fiscal Year Highlights - comparisons to prior year MIAMI , Dec. 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Lennar Corporation (NYSE: LEN and LEN.B) , one of the nation's largest homebuilders, today reported results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year ended November 30, 2024 . Fourth quarter net earnings attributable to Lennar in 2024 were $1.1 billion , or $4.06 per diluted share, compared to $1.4 billion , or $4.82 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2023. Excluding mark-to-market gains on technology investments, fourth quarter net earnings attributable to Lennar in 2024 were $1.1 billion , or $4.03 per diluted share, compared to fourth quarter net earnings attributable to Lennar in 2023 of $1.5 billion , or $5.17 per diluted share, excluding mark-to-market losses on technology investments and other one-time items (collectively, "adjustments"). Net earnings attributable to Lennar for the year ended November 30, 2024 were $3.9 billion , or $14.31 per diluted share, compared to $3.9 billion , or $13.73 per diluted share for the year ended November 30, 2023 . Excluding adjustments, net earnings attributable to Lennar for the year ended November 30, 2024 were $3.8 billion , or $13.86 per diluted share, compared to $4.1 billion , or $14.25 per diluted share for the year ended November 30, 2023 . Stuart Miller , Executive Chairman and Co-Chief Executive Officer of Lennar, said, "In the course of our fourth quarter, the housing market that appeared to be improving as the Fed cut short-term interest rates, proved to be far more challenging as mortgage rates rose almost 100 basis points through the quarter. Even while demand remained strong, and the chronic supply shortage continued to drive the market, our results were driven by affordability limitations from higher interest rates." "Accordingly, in our fourth quarter, sales pace lagged expectations as interest rates climbed and our new orders fell short of expectations to 16,895 homes vs the low end of our guidance of 19,000 homes. Consistent with our strategy of matching sales pace with production, we adjusted sales price, incentives, and margin in order to re-ignite sales and actively manage inventory levels. We ended the quarter with two completed, unsold homes per community, which was within our historical range." "In the fourth quarter, earnings were $1.1 billion , or $4.06 per diluted share. We delivered 22,206 homes in the quarter and our average sales price, net of incentives, per home delivered was $430,000 in the fourth quarter, slightly down from last year. Our homebuilding gross margin in the fourth quarter was 22.1%, with SG&A expenses of 7.2%, resulting in a 14.9% net margin." "Driven by our consistent focus on cash flow, we constructively allocated capital while we continued to strengthen and fortify our balance sheet. During the quarter, we repurchased $521 million of our common stock, had no outstanding borrowings on our $2.9 billion revolving credit facility and cash of $4.7 billion , ending the quarter with homebuilding debt to total capital of 7.5%. With cash on hand exceeding our debt, and with overall liquidity of approximately $7.6 billion , our balance sheet remains extremely strong." "Against this backdrop, we continue to remain focused on our volume-based strategy of driving sales and cash flow while using margin as a shock absorber as we continue to migrate to an asset-light, land-light business model. This strategy is reflected in both the public filing of a registration statement on Form S-11 for the planned spin-off of Millrose Properties, Inc., as well as our previously announced acquisition of Rausch Coleman Homes as we focus on growing to drive affordability and fill the supply gap that is reflected in the marketplace." Jon Jaffe , Co-Chief Executive Officer and President of Lennar, said, "Operationally, our starts pace and sales pace were 4.6 homes and 4.2 homes per community in the fourth quarter, respectively, as we continue to move closer to an even flow operating model. Our cycle time was down to 138 days, or 14% lower year over year, as our production first focus has positively impacted our production times, while our inventory turn improved to 1.6 times reflecting broader efficiencies. Concurrently, the Lennar Marketing and Sales Machine continued to carefully match our sales pace to our production pace using our digital marketing and dynamic pricing models." "During the quarter, we continued the migration to our land light strategy. This was evidenced by our years supply of owned homesites improving to 1.1 years from 1.4 years last year and our controlled homesite percentage increasing to 82% from 76% year over year, resulting in a return on inventory of 29.2%." Mr. Miller concluded, "As we look ahead, we expect to deliver between 17,000 and 17,500 homes for the first quarter of 2025 and between 86,000 and 88,000 homes for the full year 2025, including the impact of the Rausch Coleman acquisition. While we remain optimistic that margins will normalize as affordability normalizes and our cost structure benefits from our volume, we expect our gross margin in the first quarter to be between 19.0% and 19.25%, and at this time, we will not guide to full year gross margin until we have a better sense of market conditions as the year unfolds." RESULTS OF OPERATIONS THREE MONTHS ENDED NOVEMBER 30, 2024 COMPARED TO THREE MONTHS ENDED NOVEMBER 30, 2023 Homebuilding Revenues from home sales decreased 9% in the fourth quarter of 2024 to $9.5 billion from $10.4 billion in the fourth quarter of 2023. Revenues were lower primarily due to a 7% decrease in the number of home deliveries and a 3% decrease in the average sales price of homes delivered. New home deliveries decreased to 22,206 homes in the fourth quarter of 2024 from 23,795 homes in the fourth quarter of 2023. The average sales price of homes delivered was $430,000 in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $441,000 in the fourth quarter of 2023. The decrease in average sales price of homes delivered in the fourth quarter of 2024 compared to the same period last year was primarily due to pricing to market through an increased use of incentives and product mix. Gross margins on home sales were $2.1 billion , or 22.1%, in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $2.5 billion, or 24.2%, in the fourth quarter of 2023. During the fourth quarter of 2024, gross margins decreased primarily because revenue per square foot decreased while land costs increased year over year, which was partially offset by a decrease in costs per square foot due to lower costs of materials as the Company continued to focus on construction cost savings. Selling, general and administrative expenses were $682 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $688 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. As a percentage of revenues from home sales, selling, general and administrative expenses increased to 7.2% in the fourth quarter of 2024, from 6.6% in the fourth quarter of 2023, primarily due to less leverage as a result of both lower volume and average sales price. Financial Services Operating earnings for the Financial Services segment were $154 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to $168 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The decrease in operating earnings was primarily due to lower profit per loan in the Company's mortgage business. Other Ancillary Businesses Operating loss for the Multifamily segment was $0.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to operating loss of $12 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. Operating earnings for the Lennar Other segment were $0.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2024, compared to an operating loss of $125 million in the fourth quarter of 2023. The Lennar Other operating earnings for the fourth quarter of 2024 were primarily due to positive mark-to-market adjustments of $13 million on the Company's publicly traded technology investments, which was partially offset by other operating losses. The Lennar Other operating loss for the fourth quarter of 2023 was primarily due to negative mark-to-market adjustments of $36 million on the Company's publicly traded technology investments and a $65 million write-off of one of the Company's non-public technology investments. Tax Rate For the quarters ended November 30, 2024 and 2023, the Company had a tax provision of $358 million and $417 million , which resulted in an overall effective income tax rate of 24.6% and 23.4%, respectively. For both periods, the Company's effective income tax rate included state income tax expense and non-deductible executive compensation, partially offset by tax credits. The increase in the effective tax rate from the prior year for the three months ended November 30, 2024 was primarily due to additional state income tax expense. OTHER TRANSACTIONS Credit Facility In November 2024 , the Company amended and restated the credit agreement governing its unsecured revolving credit facility (the "Credit Facility") to, among other things, increase the lenders' commitments to $2.875 billion until May 2027 when this amount will be reduced to $2.650 billion until final maturity in November 2029 . As of November 30, 2024 , there were no outstanding borrowings under the Credit Facility. Share Repurchases During the fourth quarter of 2024, the Company repurchased 3 million shares of its common stock for $521 million at an average per share price of $173.79 . Liquidity At November 30, 2024, the Company had $4.7 billion of Homebuilding cash and cash equivalents and no outstanding borrowings under its $2.9 billion Credit Facility, thereby providing approximately $7.6 billion of available capacity. Guidance The following are the Company's expected results of its homebuilding and financial services activities: First Quarter 2025 New Orders 17,500 - 18,000 Deliveries 17,000 - 17,500 Average Sales Price $410,000 - $415,000 Gross Margin % on Home Sales 19.0% - 19.25% S,G&A as a % of Home Sales 8.7% - 8.8% Financial Services Operating Earnings $100 million - $110 million About Lennar Lennar Corporation, founded in 1954, is one of the nation's leading builders of quality homes for all generations. Lennar builds affordable, move-up and active adult homes primarily under the Lennar brand name. Lennar's Financial Services segment provides mortgage financing, title and closing services primarily for buyers of Lennar's homes and, through LMF Commercial, originates mortgage loans secured primarily by commercial real estate properties throughout the United States . Lennar's Multifamily segment is a nationwide developer of high-quality multifamily rental properties. LEN X drives Lennar's technology, innovation and strategic investments. For more information about Lennar, please visit www.lennar.com . Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Some of the statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including, but not limited to, statements relating to the homebuilding market and other markets in which we participate, as well as our expected results and guidance. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that these statements do not relate strictly to historical or current matters. Rather, forward-looking statements relate to anticipated or expected events, activities, trends or results. Accordingly, these forward-looking statements should be evaluated with consideration given to the many risks and uncertainties inherent in our business that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those anticipated by the forward-looking statements. We wish to caution readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement and speak only as of the date made. Important factors that could cause differences between anticipated and actual results include slowdowns in real estate markets in regions where we have significant Homebuilding or Multifamily development activities; decreased demand for our homes, or for Multifamily rental apartments or single family homes; the potential impact of inflation; the impact of increased cost of mortgage financing for homebuyers, increased or continued high interest rates or increased competition in the mortgage industry; supply shortages and increased costs related to construction materials, including lumber, and labor; the possibility that increased tariffs will increase the cost of production materials; cost increases related to real estate taxes and insurance; the effect of increased interest rates with regard to our funds' borrowings on the willingness of the funds to invest in new projects; reductions in the market value of our investments in public companies; natural disasters or catastrophic events for which our insurance may not provide adequate coverage; our inability to successfully execute our strategies and our planned spin-off on the timelines expected or at all; a decline in the value of the land and home inventories we maintain and resulting possible future writedowns of the carrying value of our real estate assets; the forfeiture of deposits related to land purchase options we decide not to exercise; the effects of public health issues such as a major epidemic or pandemic that could have a negative impact on the economy and on our businesses; possible unfavorable outcomes in legal proceedings; conditions in the capital, credit and financial markets; harm to our business from information technology failures and data security breaches; changes in laws, regulations or the regulatory environment affecting our business; policy changes that may be introduced by the new administration that could affect economic conditions, tax regimes and regulatory frameworks, and the other risks and uncertainties described in our filings from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K filed on January 26, 2024 , as amended by our Annual Report on Form 10-K/A filed on April 25, 2024 , and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. A conference call to discuss the Company's fourth quarter earnings will be held at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday , December 19, 2024. The call will be broadcast live on the internet and can be accessed through the Company's website at investors.lennar.com . If you are unable to participate in the conference call, the call will be archived at investors.lennar.com for 90 days. A replay of the conference call will also be available later that day by calling 203-369-0176 and entering 5723593 as the confirmation number. LENNAR CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES Selected Revenues and Operating Information (In thousands, except per share amounts) (unaudited) Three Months Ended Years Ended November 30, November 30, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Revenues: Homebuilding $ 9,548,684 10,516,050 33,906,426 32,660,987 Financial Services 304,550 304,693 1,109,263 976,859 Multifamily 88,917 140,824 411,537 573,485 Lennar Other 4,737 6,616 14,226 22,035 Total revenues $ 9,946,888 10,968,183 35,441,452 34,233,366 Homebuilding operating earnings $ 1,495,383 1,912,639 5,342,252 5,527,707 Financial Services operating earnings 154,476 169,130 577,184 509,461 Multifamily operating earnings (loss) (160) (12,155) 42,635 (50,651) Lennar Other operating earnings (loss) 450 (125,414) (47,967) (209,788) Corporate general and administrative expenses (170,011) (136,336) (648,986) (501,338) Charitable foundation contribution (22,206) (23,795) (80,210) (73,087) Earnings before income taxes 1,457,932 1,784,069 5,184,908 5,202,304 Provision for income taxes (358,058) (416,780) (1,217,253) (1,241,013) Net earnings (including net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests) 1,099,874 1,367,289 3,967,655 3,961,291 Less: Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests 3,660 6,002 35,122 22,780 Net earnings attributable to Lennar $ 1,096,214 1,361,287 3,932,533 3,938,511 Basic and diluted average shares outstanding 267,262 279,438 272,019 283,319 Basic and diluted earnings per share $ 4.06 4.82 14.31 13.73 Supplemental information: Interest incurred (1) $ 29,254 41,434 129,310 187,640 EBIT (2): Net earnings attributable to Lennar $ 1,096,214 1,361,287 3,932,533 3,938,511 Provision for income taxes 358,058 416,780 1,217,253 1,241,013 Interest expense included in: Costs of homes sold 39,513 69,859 160,848 240,871 Costs of land sold 29 156 373 1,588 Homebuilding other income, net 4,472 4,525 18,771 15,434 Total interest expense 44,014 74,540 179,992 257,893 EBIT $ 1,498,286 1,852,607 5,329,778 5,437,417 (1) Amount represents interest incurred related to Homebuilding debt. (2) EBIT is a non-GAAP financial measure defined as earnings before interest and taxes. This financial measure has been presented because the Company finds it important and useful in evaluating its performance and believes that it helps readers of the Company's financial statements compare its operations with those of its competitors. Although management finds EBIT to be an important measure in conducting and evaluating the Company's operations, this measure has limitations as an analytical tool as it is not reflective of the actual profitability generated by the Company during the period. Management compensates for the limitations of using EBIT by using this non-GAAP measure only to supplement the Company's GAAP results. Due to the limitations discussed, EBIT should not be viewed in isolation, as it is not a substitute for GAAP measures. LENNAR CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES Segment Information (In thousands) (unaudited) Three Months Ended Years Ended November 30, November 30, 2024 2023 2024 2023 Homebuilding revenues: Sales of homes $ 9,500,991 10,442,850 33,778,149 32,459,129 Sales of land 39,568 63,501 93,384 109,963 Other homebuilding 8,125 9,699 34,893 91,895 Total revenues 9,548,684 10,516,050 33,906,426 32,660,987 Homebuilding costs and expenses: Costs of homes sold 7,400,266 7,919,724 26,255,353 24,900,470 Costs of land sold 30,162 39,413 73,802 92,142 Selling, general and administrative 682,003 687,774 2,480,309 2,231,033 Total costs and expenses 8,112,431 8,646,911 28,809,464 27,223,645 Homebuilding net margins 1,436,253 1,869,139 5,096,962 5,437,342 Homebuilding equity in earnings (loss) from unconsolidated entities 12,410 9,223 66,448 (3,886) Homebuilding other income, net 46,720 34,277 178,842 94,251 Homebuilding operating earnings $ 1,495,383 1,912,639 5,342,252 5,527,707 Financial Services revenues $ 304,550 304,693 1,109,263 976,859 Financial Services costs and expenses 150,074 135,563 532,079Ace Therapeutics Accelerates Preclinical Depression Investigation by Providing Depression-Related Behavior Tests
Coastal Carolina 48, Georgia St. 27PRINCIPAL REAL ESTATE INCOME FUND CONTINUES SHARE REPURCHASE PROGRAM