Toll Bros. 2nd-Quarter Net Income Rises 15%

Toll Bros. Inc., the largest U.S. builder of luxury homes, said fiscal second-quarter net income rose 15% as home sales rose.

Net income rose to $52.5 million, or 69 cents a share, 7 cents better than estimates, in the quarter ended April 30. Revenue rose 7% to $550.5 million. Sales of new homes rose 11% to 1,086.

U.S. home builders are profiting from mortgage rates near 7% and rising consumer confidence that have spurred sales this year.

About 903,000 new homes will be sold in the U.S. this year, second only to 2001’s record 908,000, the National Assn. of Home Builders forecasts.

Toll shares fell 97 cents to $29.30 on the NYSE.

They have risen 38% this year, compared with a 20% gain in the Standard & Poor’s super-composite home-building index of 14 home builders, which includes Toll.