Meritage Homes Back in the Black

Meritage Homes' first quarter of 2010 marked a major milestone for the company. After three years of talking only about losses, company executives were finally able to return the word "profits" to their vocabularies. The company posted earnings of $3 million, or $0.08 per share. "We're operating in the black for the first time since the downturn began," CEO Steve Hilton told analysts during an earnings call Thursday. Throughout the call, Hilton seemed committed to preventing any of the company's progress from backsliding, even in the wake of the federal tax credit expiration at midnight Friday. His remarks to participating analysts focused mainly on growing volume while holding on to, if not improving on, the margin gains the company already had achieved.

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