Mexico's Geo 2nd-qtr net profit rises 11 pct yr/yr

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican homebuilder Geo posted an 11 percent rise in second-quarter net profit on Thursday after selling more homes in a low cost housing boom in Mexico.

Geo (GEOB.MX) said its April-June net profit was 432 million pesos ($42 million), up from 389 million pesos a year earlier as revenue increased 27 percent to 4.616 billion pesos.

Geo sold 13,009 homes in the quarter, up from the 10,399 houses it offloaded in the same period last year.

Core earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, known as EBITDA, rose 25 percent to 1.097 billion pesos.

Shares of Geo fell 1.18 percent on Thursday to 34.21 pesos.

Mexico's housing sector, which also includes Homex (HOMEX.MX), Ara (ARA.MX) and Urbi (URBI.MX), has been popular with investors because of a boom in low-cost housing in recent years.

The sector focuses on mass producing homes that sell for less than $40,000, although builders also dabble in more expensive homes with higher profit margins.

The industry is expected to expand over the next few quarters at a rate of around 15 percent as it hits government-set targets for new homes.

($1 = 10.307 pesos at end June)

(Reporting by Chris Aspin; editing by Carol Bishopric)