The Phoenix-based developer of Sun Cities throughout the nation reported net earnings of $22.6 million for the period that ended Dec. 31, up from $13.7 million, or 65%, for the same period a year ago.

The company's earning per share was $1.20, far beyond what analysts had expected. Webb had been expected to return $1.10 per share.

Overhead reduction and home price increases helped earnings, but quarterly revenue numbers fell about 2% over the period in 1999. The quarterly revenues ending in December were $488.9 million, compared to $495.6 million a year earlier.

Webb has increased the average price of its Sun City homes by 14%. The company has also taken advantage of cheaper building materials to cut costs.

A hostile takeover attempt last year forced Webb to adopt a new strategic plan aimed at reducing its expenses and debt. The company's new plan is to sell excess land, build smaller communities and partner with other builders to gain efficiencies and share costs.

"Our focus is on increasing earnings per share, improving margins, improving return on invested capital and reducing our debt as a percentage of total capitalization," CEO LeRoy Hanneman says. "We have accomplished improvement in all of these areas during the last six months and expect continued improvement in the next fiscal year. We're pleased that our stock price has improved considerably during this period."