Investors | News Releases | Beazer Homes Reports Record Earnings: Fourth Quarter EPS of $5.82, up 39%; Fiscal 2004 EPS of $17.09, up 34%

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Beazer Homes Reports Record Earnings: Fourth Quarter EPS of $5.82, up 39%; Fiscal 2004 EPS of $17.09, up 34%

November 5, 2004 at 6:23 AM EST
    ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 5, 2004--

  Company Issues EPS Outlook of $20.00 - $21.00 for Fiscal Year 2005

Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE:BZH) (www.beazer.com) today announced results for the quarter and full year ended September 30, 2004, reporting an all-time record for quarterly earnings per share. Highlights of the quarter and year, compared to the same periods of the prior year, are as follows:


Quarter Ended September 30, 2004

--  Record diluted EPS: $5.82 (up 39.2% vs. $4.18 in prior year)
--  Home closings: 5,098 (up 1.7%)
--  Total revenues: $1.21 billion (up 16.5%)
--  Gross margin from home construction: 20.4% (up 130 basis points)
--  Operating income margin:  10.6% (up 170 basis points)
--  Net income: $80.1 million (up 40.1%)
--  New orders: 4,276 (up 10.7%)

Year Ended September 30, 2004

--  Record diluted EPS: $17.09 (up 33.7% vs. $12.78 in prior year)
--  Home closings: 16,451 (up 6.8%)
--  Total revenues: $3.91 billion (up 23.0%)
--  Gross margin from home construction: 19.7% (up 90 basis points)
--  Operating income margin:  9.7% (up 90 basis points)
--  Net income: $235.8 million (up 36.5%)
--  New orders: 17,481 (up 7.1%)

Record Year-End Backlog

--  Backlog at 9/30/04: 8,456 homes (up 13.9%), sales value $2.24
    billion (up 35.9%)

Record Earnings for September Quarter

"Beazer Homes ends the year with an extremely strong finish, surpassing numerous milestones," said President and Chief Executive Officer, Ian J. McCarthy. "We generated annual revenues approaching $4 billion, which was accompanied by significant annual earnings growth of 36.5% in fiscal 2004. Our September quarter revenues increased 16.5%, and new orders were up 10.7%, both indicating continued strength and favorable conditions in the housing industry and Beazer Homes' strong market position. Our September quarter net income and earnings per share both represent all-time quarterly records, increasing 40.1% and 39.2%, respectively, from the prior year. These strong results illustrate our ongoing commitment to achieving profitable growth by leveraging our size, scale and geographic reach through our national brand."

"Beazer Homes' backlog now stands at a fourth quarter record level of 8,456 homes with a sales value of $2.24 billion, up 13.9% and 35.9%, respectively, from the backlog homes and sales value at September 30, 2003. We believe this sizeable year-end backlog increase provides excellent visibility for continued strong financial performance in fiscal 2005," added McCarthy.

The growth in new home orders for the quarter resulted from increases in the Company's Mid-Atlantic, Southeast and West regions. Order growth in the Southeast was driven by increases in Florida, Georgia and parts of the Carolinas, with West region order growth attributed to Arizona and California. This was partially offset by lower orders in the Central region and parts of the Midwest and Carolinas. Overall, Midwest orders were flat year-over-year.

Closings of 5,098 homes represents a quarterly record and resulted from increases in closings in the Company's West and Mid-Atlantic regions and in parts of the Southeast, notably Georgia and parts of Florida. These increases were partially offset by declines in the Central and Midwest regions and parts of the Carolinas.

These increases in new home orders and closings were achieved despite challenging weather conditions resulting from hurricane activity throughout parts of the Southeast region.

Strong Financial Position Continues in September Quarter

"Beazer Homes' financial position remained strong during the fourth fiscal quarter," said James O'Leary, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "At September 30, 2004, net debt to total capitalization stood at 39.9%, with a cash position of $320.9 million. We achieved not only record earnings and improved margins this quarter, but also a return on average equity for the twelve months ended September 30, 2004 of 21.2%, representing a 190 basis point improvement from the same period a year ago. These financial results reflect our commitment to improved profitability and sustained growth within our diverse geographic footprint through focused product expansion and price point diversification."

During the fourth fiscal quarter of 2004, the Company realized increases over the prior year in its home construction gross margin, total gross margin and operating income margin as the Company continued to realize benefits from the execution of its profit improvement initiatives and a strong pricing environment in several markets. These results include warranty costs associated with construction defect claims from water intrusion at one of its Midwest divisions and marketing expenses associated with the Company's branding initiative totaling $18.5 million.

Settlement of Class Action Suit

As disclosed in the Company's Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on October 26, 2004, the Hamilton County Superior Court approved the settlement agreement between the parties in the putative class action suit against Trinity Homes LLC and Beazer Homes Investment Corp., Trinity's parent, on October 20, 2004. The plaintiffs asserted that homes built by Trinity with a brick veneer lacked a one inch air gap, resulting in water intrusion.

The settlement agreement establishes an agreed protocol and process for assessment and remediation of any water intrusion issues at the homes which includes, among other things, that the homes will be repaired at Trinity's expense. The settlement establishes a time frame within which the work must be completed and provides a Dispute Resolution Panel to resolve disputes between a homeowner and Trinity concerning both the plan to remediate the home and the performance of the work.

Under the settlement, each homeowner releases Trinity, Beazer Homes Investment Corp. and other affiliated companies from the claims asserted in the class action lawsuit, claims arising out of external water intrusion, and claims of improper brick installation, including property damage claims, loss or diminution of property value claims, and most personal injury claims, among others.

As the Company receives claims pursuant to the settlement, we will accrue our estimated costs to resolve those claims. We expect to know substantially the number of claims that will ultimately be filed pursuant to the settlement during the second quarter of fiscal 2005.

Fiscal 2005 EPS Outlook

"Our strong backlog coupled with our expectations of continued strength in the housing market provide us confidence in our future growth opportunities," said McCarthy. "In addition, we expect continued execution on our strategic initiatives that leverage our national brand, capitalize on our broad geographic profile through focused product expansion and price-point diversification, and also drive best practices to achieve optimal efficiencies, will place us in a strong position for continued growth. Absent any unanticipated adverse changes, our outlook for fiscal 2005 diluted earnings per share is in the range of $20.00 - $21.00 per share." This outlook reflects inclusion of 1,166,400 shares issuable upon conversion of the Company's convertible senior notes in the calculation of diluted earnings per share for fiscal 2005, in accordance with the EITF 04-8 "The Effect of Contingently Convertible Debt on Diluted Earnings per Share," which is currently expected to be effective for reporting periods ending after December 15, 2004.

Beazer Homes USA, Inc., headquartered in Atlanta is one of the country's ten largest single-family homebuilders with operations in Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. Beazer Homes also provides mortgage origination and title services to its homebuyers.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this press release are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to changes in general economic conditions, fluctuations in interest rates, increases in raw materials and labor costs, levels of competition, potential liability as a result of construction defect, product liability and warranty claims, the possibility that the Company's improvement plan for the Midwest will not achieve desired results, and other factors described in the Company's Form S-3/A filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on August 17, 2004 and Annual Report and Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2003.

                        BEAZER HOMES USA, INC.
              CONSOLIDATED OPERATING AND FINANCIAL DATA
           (Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)

FINANCIAL DATA
--------------
                            Quarter Ended            Year Ended
                            September 30,           September 30,
                       ----------------------- -----------------------
                          2004        2003        2004        2003
                          ----        ----        ----        ----
INCOME STATEMENT
Revenues               $1,211,141  $1,039,923  $3,907,109  $3,177,408
Costs and expenses:
   Home construction
    and land sales        953,898     829,983   3,099,732   2,534,035
   Selling, general and
    administrative
    expense               129,042     117,306     429,442     356,648
   Expenses related to
    retirement of debt          -           -           -       7,570
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Operating income          128,201      92,634     377,935     279,155
Other income                3,089       1,851       8,640       6,374
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

Income before income
 taxes                    131,290      94,485     386,575     285,529
Income taxes               51,203      37,321     150,764     112,784
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Net income                $80,087     $57,164    $235,811    $172,745
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========

Net income per common
 share:
   Basic                    $6.05       $4.38      $17.74      $13.41
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========
   Diluted                  $5.82       $4.18      $17.09      $12.78
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========


Weighted average shares
 outstanding, in thousands:
   Basic                   13,241      13,060      13,293      12,886
   Diluted                 13,749      13,679      13,801      13,514

Interest incurred         $21,163     $15,677     $76,035     $65,295
Interest amortized to
 cost of sales            $20,016     $17,302     $66,199     $55,451
Depreciation and
 amortization              $3,655      $3,623     $15,755     $13,220

SELECTED BALANCE SHEET
 DATA                       September 30,
                          2004        2003
                       ----------- -----------
Cash                     $320,880     $73,372
Inventory               2,344,095   1,723,483
Total assets            3,149,462   2,212,034
Total debt              1,137,404     741,365
Shareholders' equity    1,232,121     993,695


                        BEAZER HOMES USA, INC.
        CONSOLIDATED OPERATING AND FINANCIAL DATA (Continued)
                        (Dollars in thousands)

OPERATING DATA
--------------

                                    Quarter Ended        Year Ended
                                    September 30,       September 30,
                               ----------------------- ---------------
SELECTED OPERATING DATA           2004        2003      2004    2003
                                  ----        ----      ----    ----
Closings:
  Southeast region                  1,782       1,770   5,576   5,160
  West region                       1,700       1,379   5,880   4,688
  Central region                      356         405   1,020   1,239
  Mid-Atlantic region                 489         449   1,583   1,238
  Midwest region                      771       1,011   2,392   3,084
                               ----------- ----------- ------- -------
Total closings                      5,098       5,014  16,451  15,409
                               =========== =========== ======= =======
New orders, net of
 cancellations:
  Southeast region                  1,548       1,298   5,884   5,614
  West region                       1,571       1,452   6,733   5,142
  Central region                      220         268   1,053   1,128
  Mid-Atlantic region                 367         273   1,513   1,655
  Midwest region                      570         571   2,298   2,777
                               ----------- ----------- ------- -------
Total new orders                    4,276       3,862  17,481  16,316
                               =========== =========== ======= =======
Backlog units at end of
 period:
  Southeast region                  2,629       2,321
  West region                       3,140       2,287
  Central region                      429         396
  Mid-Atlantic region               1,047       1,117
  Midwest region                    1,211       1,305
                               ----------- -----------
Total backlog units                 8,456       7,426
                               =========== ===========
Dollar value of backlog at end
 of period                     $2,235,917  $1,644,814
                               =========== ===========
Active subdivisions:
  Southeast region                    177         178
  West region                          90          97
  Central region                       43          39
  Mid-Atlantic region                  57          40
  Midwest region                      129         140
                               ----------- -----------
Total active subdivisions             496         494
                               =========== ===========


                        BEAZER HOMES USA, INC.
        CONSOLIDATED OPERATING AND FINANCIAL DATA (Continued)
                        (Dollars in thousands)

                            Quarter Ended            Year Ended
                            September 30,           September 30,
                       ----------------------- -----------------------
SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL
 DATA:                    2004        2003        2004        2003
                          ----        ----        ----        ----

Revenues
  Home sales           $1,187,246  $1,007,416  $3,824,142  $3,097,021
  Land and lot sales       12,566      19,266      44,702      39,069
  Mortgage origination
   revenue                 15,169      16,801      51,140      57,152
  Intercompany
   elimination -
   mortgage                (3,840)     (3,560)    (12,875)    (15,834)
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total revenues         $1,211,141  $1,039,923  $3,907,109  $3,177,408
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========
Cost of home
 construction and land
 sales
  Home sales             $944,774    $815,261  $3,069,976  $2,515,015
  Land and lot sales       12,964      18,282      42,631      34,854
  Intercompany
   elimination -
   mortgage                (3,840)     (3,560)    (12,875)    (15,834)
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total costs of home
 construction and land
 sales                   $953,898    $829,983  $3,099,732  $2,534,035
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========
Selling, general and
 administrative
  Homebuilding
   operations            $120,091    $107,785    $397,601    $325,657
  Mortgage origination
   operations               8,951       9,521      31,841      30,991
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total selling, general
 and administrative      $129,042    $117,306    $429,442    $356,648
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========


    CONTACT: Beazer Homes USA, Inc., Atlanta
             Leslie H. Kratcoski, 770-829-3764
             lkratcos@beazer.com

    SOURCE: Beazer Homes USA, Inc.