Investors | News Releases | Beazer Homes Reports Record Fiscal Third Quarter Net Income up 89% and Dollar Value Backlog up 35%; Raises FY 2005 Outlook

INVESTOR
RELATIONS

Investor Relations

News Releases

Beazer Homes Reports Record Fiscal Third Quarter Net Income up 89% and Dollar Value Backlog up 35%; Raises FY 2005 Outlook

July 28, 2005 at 6:31 AM EDT

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 28, 2005--Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE: BZH) (www.beazer.com) today announced results for the quarter and nine months ended June 30, 2005, reporting an all-time record for quarterly net income and earnings per share. Highlights of the quarter are as follows:

    Quarter Ended June 30, 2005

    --  Record diluted EPS: $2.50 (up 76.1% vs. $1.42 in prior year)

    --  Home closings: 4,631 (up 14.0%)

    --  Total revenues: $1,293.2 million (up 28.1%)

    --  Gross profit from home construction: $312.9 million (up 60.4%)

    --  Gross margin from home construction: 24.8% (up 510 basis
        points)

    --  Operating income: $178.6 million (up 85.6%)

    --  Operating margin: 13.8% (up 430 basis points)

    --  Net Income: $112.7 million (up 88.9%)

    --  New orders: 5,202 homes (up 6.8%), sales value $1.49 billion
        (up 18.0%)

    --  All-time record backlog at June 30, 2005: 10,635 homes (up
        14.6%), sales value $3.12 billion (up 35.4%)

    --  Active communities at June 30, 2005: 521 (up 2.8%)

    June Quarter Results

"We are very pleased to announce record financial results for our third quarter of fiscal 2005. Our June quarter home closings and revenues increased 14.0% and 28.1%, respectively, and the sales value of our new orders increased 18.0%, reflecting continued strength and favorable conditions in the housing industry and for Beazer Homes," said President and Chief Executive Officer, Ian J. McCarthy. "Our June quarter net income and diluted earnings per share both represent all-time quarterly records, increasing 88.9% and 76.1%, respectively, from the prior year. The fundamentals of our business continue to be robust and we are delivering on our commitment of achieving profitable growth by leveraging our size, scale and geographic reach through our national brand."

"Beazer Homes' backlog stands at an all-time record level of 10,635 homes with a sales value of $3.12 billion, up 14.6% and 35.4%, respectively, from June 30, 2004. This sizeable backlog increase provides the basis for strong performance as we move forward into the final quarter of fiscal 2005 and enter fiscal 2006," added McCarthy.

Total home closings of 4,631 were up 14% from the prior year, resulting from increases in the Southeast, West, Central and Mid-Atlantic regions, partially offset by lower closings in the Midwest region, namely in Indiana and Kentucky.

The company experienced strong new order growth during the quarter in its Southeast, Central, Mid-Atlantic and Midwest regions which was partially offset by decreased orders in the West region. In the West region, strong order growth in Arizona, Colorado and Southern California was offset by declines in Nevada and Northern California. The declines in these markets resulted primarily from certain entitlement issues which delayed community openings in addition to the company's overall focus on converting its existing backlog during the quarter.

Strong Financial Performance in June Quarter

"We achieved record earnings and significantly improved margins this quarter as our focus on profitable growth and accelerated closings yielded significant returns," said James O'Leary, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "At June 30, 2005, net debt to total capitalization stood at 48.2%, in line with our target range, and our recent successful completion of both a $300 million senior notes offering in June and a $50 million add-on offering in July increased our ability to capitalize on the significant opportunities available to us by enhancing the liquidity required to further our corporate growth initiatives."

During the third quarter of fiscal 2005, the company realized increases over the prior year in its home construction gross margin, total gross margin and operating income margin of 510 basis points, 490 basis points and 430 basis points, respectively, as the company continued to realize benefits from the execution of its profit improvement initiatives. Margins were also favorably impacted by strong pricing in most major markets, as evidenced by the increase in the average sales price of closings and units in backlog to $272,700 and $293,500, respectively. In the prior year third fiscal quarter, the company incurred warranty costs associated with Trinity Homes, LLC, and increased marketing costs associated with the company's branding initiative, both totaling in the aggregate $12.7 million, and having an approximately 130 basis points impact on margin.

Fiscal 2005 EPS Outlook

"Our performance for the nine months ended June 30, 2005, combined with record backlog and expectations of continued strength in the housing market give us confidence in our future growth opportunities," said McCarthy. "In addition, we expect continued execution on our strategic initiatives that utilize our size, scale and capabilities to achieve greater profitability and increased market penetration through focused product expansion, price point diversification and leveraging of our national brand. As such, we are raising our outlook for diluted earnings per share from a range of $7.00 - $7.25 to a range of $8.00 - $8.25 in fiscal 2005 before the goodwill impairment charge recorded in the second quarter but taking into account the charges associated with the class action settlement for Trinity Homes recorded in the first half of the year."

Conference Call

The company will hold a conference call today, July 28, 2005, at 11:00 AM ET to discuss the results and take questions. You may listen to the conference call and view the company's slide presentation over the internet by going to the "Investor Relations" section of the company's website at www.beazer.com. To access the conference call by telephone, listeners should dial 800-369-1904. To be admitted to the call, verbally supply the passcode "BZH". A replay of the call will be available shortly after the conclusion of the live call. To directly access the replay, dial 866-367-5568 (available until 5:00 PM ET on August 5, 2005), or visit www.beazer.com.

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, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia and also provides mortgage origination and title services to its homebuyers. Beazer Homes, a Fortune 500 company, is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol "BZH."

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 and strategies to broaden target price points and lessen dependence on the entry-level segment in certain markets 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, Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended September 30, 2004 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2005.


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

FINANCIAL DATA
--------------
                            Quarter Ended         Nine Months Ended
                              June 30,                June 30,
                       ----------------------- -----------------------
                           2005        2004        2005        2004
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
INCOME STATEMENT
Revenues               $1,293,227  $1,009,279  $3,181,302  $2,695,968
Costs and expenses:
     Home construction
      and land sales      963,699     801,865   2,456,111   2,145,834
     Selling, general
      and
      administrative
      expense             150,891     111,176     363,555     300,400
     Goodwill
      impairment
      charge (1)                -           -     130,235           -
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Operating income          178,637      96,238     231,401     249,734
Equity in income of
 unconsolidated joint
 ventures                   2,951         813       3,150       1,748
Other income                  987         786       4,987       3,803
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

Income before income
 taxes                    182,575      97,837     239,538     255,285
Income taxes               69,835      38,157     141,438      99,561
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Net income             $  112,740  $   59,680  $   98,100  $  155,724
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========

Net income per common
 share (2):
     Basic             $     2.78  $     1.49  $     2.43  $     3.90
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========
     Diluted           $     2.50  $     1.42  $     2.24  $     3.74
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========

Weighted average
 shares outstanding,
 in thousands (2):
     Basic                 40,497      39,960      40,400      39,932
     Diluted               45,666      42,350      45,510      41,740

Interest incurred      $   22,798  $   19,469  $   64,269  $   54,872
Interest amortized to
 cost of sales         $   21,568  $   17,309  $   54,880  $   46,183
EPS interest add back
 (net of taxes) -
 Convertible Debt      $    1,331  $      301  $    3,993  $      301
Depreciation and
 amortization          $    5,676  $    4,065  $   15,311  $   12,100

SELECTED BALANCE SHEET
DATA                          June 30,
                          2005         2004
                       ----------- -----------
Cash                   $    8,098  $  199,627
Inventory               2,986,994   2,352,869
Total assets            3,467,666   2,976,031
Total debt              1,250,499   1,124,067
Shareholders' equity    1,333,879   1,137,683

(1) The non-cash goodwill impairment charge included in the nine
months ended June 30, 2005 is not tax deductible.
(2) Share and per share amounts for prior periods have been
retroactively adjusted to reflect the effect of the Company's March
2005 three-for-one stock split.
                        BEAZER HOMES USA, INC.
         CONSOLIDATED OPERATING AND FINANCIAL DATA (Continued)
                        (Dollars in thousands)

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

                            Quarter Ended         Nine Months Ended
                              June 30,                June 30,
                       ----------------------- -----------------------
SELECTED OPERATING
 DATA                      2005       2004        2005        2004
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Closings:
     Southeast region       1,491       1,340       3,926       3,794
     West region            1,774       1,562       4,324       4,180
     Central region           409         216         866         664
     Mid-Atlantic
      region                  439         409       1,175       1,094
     Midwest region           518         534       1,516       1,621
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total closings              4,631       4,061      11,807      11,353
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========
New orders, net of
 cancellations:
     Southeast region       1,875       1,657       4,767       4,336
     West region            1,607       1,823       4,863       5,162
     Central region           416         297       1,059         833
     Mid-Atlantic
      region                  514         427       1,582       1,146
     Midwest region           790         665       1,715       1,728
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total new orders            5,202       4,869      13,986      13,205
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========
Backlog units at end
 of period:
     Southeast region       3,470       2,863
     West region            3,679       3,269
     Central region           622         565
     Mid-Atlantic
      region                1,454       1,169
     Midwest region         1,410       1,412
                       ----------- -----------
Total backlog units        10,635       9,278
                       =========== ===========
Dollar value of
 backlog at end of
 period                $3,121,702  $2,304,705
                       =========== ===========
Active subdivisions:
     Southeast region         170         189
     West region              107          93
     Central region            49          44
     Mid-Atlantic
      region                   62          55
     Midwest region           133         126
                       ----------- -----------
Total active
 subdivisions                 521         507
                       =========== ===========
                        BEAZER HOMES USA, INC.
                      CONSOLIDATED OPERATING AND
                      FINANCIAL DATA (Continued)
                        (Dollars in thousands)

                            Quarter Ended         Nine Months Ended
                              June 30,                June 30,
                       ----------------------- -----------------------
SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL
 DATA:                    2005        2004        2005        2004
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------

Revenues
     Home sales        $1,262,890  $  989,961  $3,126,302  $2,636,896
     Land and lot
      sales                20,789      10,570      29,767      32,136
     Mortgage
      origination
      revenue              13,708      11,531      35,872      35,971
     Intercompany
      elimination -
      mortgage             (4,160)     (2,783)    (10,639)     (9,035)
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total revenues         $1,293,227  $1,009,279  $3,181,302  $2,695,968
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========
Cost of home
 construction and land
 sales
     Home sales        $  950,013  $  794,875  $2,442,767  $2,125,202
     Land and lot
      sales                17,846       9,773      23,983      29,667
     Intercompany
      elimination -
      mortgage             (4,160)     (2,783)    (10,639)     (9,035)
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total costs of home
 construction and land
 sales                 $  963,699  $  801,865  $2,456,111  $2,145,834
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========
Selling, general and
 administrative
     Homebuilding
      operations       $  141,315  $  103,403  $  337,564  $  277,510
     Mortgage
      origination
      operations            9,576       7,773      25,991      22,890
                       ----------- ----------- ----------- -----------
Total selling, general
 and administrative    $  150,891  $  111,176  $  363,555  $  300,400
                       =========== =========== =========== ===========

CONTACT: Beazer Homes USA, Inc., Atlanta
Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Leslie H. Kratcoski, 770/829-3764
lkratcos@beazer.com

SOURCE: Beazer Homes USA, Inc.