Beazer Homes Reports Record Earnings:
Fiscal 2003 Diluted EPS of $12.78 Up 19%
Board of Directors Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.10 per Share; Company Also Announces Strengthened Brand and Strategic Growth Initiatives
ATLANTA, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE: BZH) ( www.beazer.com ) today announced results for the quarter and year ended September 30, 2003, reporting record earnings. The Company also announced that its Board of Directors has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per common share. In addition, the Company released information about its new branding initiative and provided details regarding strategic growth initiatives. Highlights of the quarter and year, compared to the same periods of the prior year, are as follows:
Quarter Ended September 30, 2003
- Record diluted EPS: $4.18 (up 38% vs. $3.03 in prior year)
- Record home closings: 5,014 (up 4%)
- Record total revenues: $1.0 billion (up 15%)
- Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
(EBITDA): $115.4 million (up 37%)
- EBITDA margin: 11.1% (up 180 basis points)
- Record net income: $57.2 million (up 41%)
- Record September quarter new orders: 3,862 (up 4%)
Year Ended September 30, 2003
- Record diluted EPS: $12.78 (up 19% vs. $10.74 in prior year)
- Record home closings: 15,409 (up 13%)
- Record total revenues: $3.2 billion (up 20%)
- Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization
(EBITDA): $354.2 million (up 39%)
- EBITDA margin: 11.1% (up 150 basis points)
- Record net income: $172.7 million (up 41%)
- Record new orders: 16,316 (up 20%)
Record Year-End Backlog
- Record year-end backlog: 7,426 homes (up 14%), sales value $1.6 billion
(up 27%)
Record Earnings for September Quarter and Fiscal Year
"Beazer Homes ends the year with a strong finish, surpassing numerous milestones," said President and Chief Executive Officer Ian J. McCarthy. "For the first time we generated annual revenues in excess of $3 billion and the fourth quarter marked our first-ever $1 billion revenue quarter. This was accompanied by significant increases in earnings, illustrating our ongoing commitment to achieving profitable growth by leveraging our size, scale and
geographic reach, as well as executing specific growth and profitability initiatives."
"Beazer Homes' year-end backlog now stands at 7,426 homes with a sales value of $1.6 billion, up 14% and 27%, respectively from the backlog homes and sales value at September 30, 2002. This sizable year-end backlog increase provides excellent visibility for another strong performance during fiscal 2004," added McCarthy.
Strong Financial Position; Profit Margin Expansion in Fiscal 2003
"We continued to strengthen Beazer Homes' financial position during fiscal 2003," said James O'Leary, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "Interest coverage (EBITDA divided by interest incurred) increased from 5.0x to 5.4x, and at year-end, debt to total capitalization improved to 43% from 48% at September 30, 2002. Net debt to total capitalization now stands at 40%, including $73.4 million of cash on the balance sheet. Furthermore, we achieved significant profit margin improvement and expect recently introduced profit improvement initiatives to yield further increases to our margins in the future."
During the fourth quarter and fiscal 2003, the Company increased its EBITDA margin by 180 and 150 basis points, respectively. This improvement reflects strong industry fundamentals and greater emphasis on focused profit improvement initiatives. These gains were achieved despite higher warranty expenses associated with construction defect claims from water intrusion in the Midwest and inventory write-downs in the Southeast.
Board of Directors Declares Quarterly Dividend
The Company also announced its intention to begin paying a quarterly cash dividend. The Board of Directors on November 4, 2003 declared an initial quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per common share payable December 22, 2003 to shareholders of record at the close of business on December 10, 2003. "The decision by the Board to institute a quarterly dividend reflects its continued confidence in the Company's prospects for the future to both invest in the Company's growth and to allocate capital to dividends for our shareholders," said McCarthy.
Branding and Strategic Growth Initiatives
The Company also announced a new branding initiative. "On October 15, Beazer Homes began rolling out a strengthened brand identity which is the result of more than two years of work aimed at building a unified consumer brand across all regions in which we operate," said McCarthy. "Beazer Homes becomes a more dynamic force when we present ourselves as one company with one name, one logo, one message and one purpose."
"This undertaking is about much more than a universal name and a new look," McCarthy continued. "The homebuilding industry continues to undergo change and rapid consolidation with large public builders poised to capitalize on sustainable competitive advantages." To benefit from these trends and achieve its growth potential, Beazer Homes will differentiate itself through qualities that lead to good recommendations, referrals to family and friends, and repeat purchases by loyal customers. "While our brand strategy has many components," said McCarthy, "the customer is the constant focus. A strengthened, national brand identity positions us to consistently address the needs of our customers across all of our markets."
"Beazer Homes has grown both organically and through acquisition, establishing one of the most diversified geographic footprints in the industry," added McCarthy. "Significant opportunity exists to build on the strengths Beazer Homes has established in terms of size, experience, capabilities and talent. Moving forward, we will focus on consistently achieving sustainable and profitable growth. We will accomplish this through strategic growth initiatives that leverage our national brand, capitalize on our broad geographic profile through focused product expansion and price-point diversification, as well as drive best practices to achieve optimal efficiencies. All of these efforts are designed to deliver maximum value to our customers, and in turn, to our shareholders."
Beazer Homes Targets EPS Growth of 10-15% in Fiscal 2004
"Our strong backlog coupled with our expectations of continued strength in the housing market provide us confidence in our future growth opportunities," said McCarthy. "We believe strong demographic trends combined with constraints on housing supply will continue to drive earnings growth for large public homebuilders, such as Beazer Homes. In addition, our strategic growth priorities, as outlined above, will place us in a strong position for continued success. As such, we expect to generate diluted earnings per share in the range of $14.00 - $14.75 in fiscal 2004, representing approximately 10-15% growth over fiscal 2003."
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 and Virginia. Beazer Homes also provides mortgage origination and title services to its homebuyers.
Notes
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 and other factors described in the Company's Annual Report for the year ended September 30, 2002.
Non-GAAP Financial Measures:
EBITDA is not a generally accepted accounting principle (GAAP) financial measure. EBITDA is calculated by adding to net income the provision for income tax, depreciation, amortization and interest. EBITDA should not be considered an alternative to net income determined in accordance with GAAP as an indicator of operating performance. Because some analysts and companies may not calculate EBITDA in the same manner as Beazer, the EBITDA information presented above may not be comparable to similar presentations by others. Beazer's management believes that EBITDA reflects the changes in the Company's operating results, particularly changes in the Company's net income, and believes it to be an effective measure of operating performance. A reconciliation of EBITDA to net income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, is provided below:
Quarter Ended
September 30,
2003 2002
Reconciliation of Net Income to
EBITDA
Net Income $57,164 $40,658
Add:
Income taxes 37,321 26,545
Interest 17,302 14,176
Depreciation and amortization 3,623 3,131
EBITDA $115,410 $84,510
Year Ended
September 30,
2003 2002
Reconciliation of Net Income to
EBITDA
Net Income $172,745 $122,634
Add:
Income taxes 112,784 79,425
Interest 55,451 43,001
Depreciation and amortization 13,220 9,453
EBITDA $354,200 $254,513
Interest Incurred $65,295 $51,171
Interest Coverage 5.4x 5.0x
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,
2003 2002 2003 2002
INCOME STATEMENT
Revenues $1,039,923 $904,331 $3,177,408 $2,641,173
Costs and expenses:
Home construction and
land sales 812,681 720,661 2,478,584 2,112,414
Interest 17,302 14,176 55,451 43,001
Selling, general and
administrative expense 117,306 105,394 356,648 292,584
Expenses related to
early retirement of
debt 0 0 7,570 0
Operating income 92,634 64,100 279,155 193,174
Other income 1,851 3,103 6,374 8,885
Income before income taxes 94,485 67,203 285,529 202,059
Income taxes 37,321 26,545 112,784 79,425
Net income $57,164 $40,658 $172,745 $122,634
Net income per common
share:
Basic $4.38 $3.21 $13.41 $11.64
Diluted $4.18 $3.03 $12.78 $10.74
Weighted average shares
outstanding, in thousands:
Basic 13,060 12,647 12,886 10,535
Diluted 13,679 13,407 13,514 11,415
Interest incurred $15,677 $16,653 $65,295 $51,171
Depreciation and
amortization $3,623 $3,131 $13,220 $9,453
SELECTED BALANCE SHEET DATA September 30,
2003 2002
Cash $73,372 $124,989
Inventory 1,723,483 1,364,133
Total assets 2,212,034 1,892,847
Total debt 741,365 739,100
Shareholders' equity 993,695 799,515
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 2003 2002 2003 2002
Closings:
Southeast region 1,770 1,719 5,160 4,575
West region 1,379 1,272 4,688 4,442
Central region 405 331 1,239 1,121
Mid-Atlantic region 449 324 1,238 1,412
Midwest region 1,011 1,193 3,084 2,053
Total closings 5,014 4,839 15,409 13,603
New orders, net of cancellations:
Southeast region 1,298 1,185 5,614 4,623
West region 1,452 1,175 5,142 4,669
Central region 268 327 1,128 1,244
Mid-Atlantic region 273 263 1,655 1,365
Midwest region 571 781 2,777 1,709
Total new orders 3,862 3,731 16,316 13,610
Backlog at end of period 7,426 6,519
Dollar value of backlog at end of
period $1,644,814 $1,293,290
Active subdivisions:
Southeast region 178 188
West region 97 73
Central region 39 34
Mid-Atlantic region 40 35
Midwest region 140 138
Total active subdivisions 494 468
BEAZER HOMES USA, INC.
CONSOLIDATED OPERATING AND FINANCIAL DATA (Continued)
(Dollars in thousands)
Quarter Ended Year Ended
September 30, September 30,
SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL DATA: 2003 2002 2003 2002
Revenues
Home sales $1,007,416 $885,548 $3,097,021 $2,594,910
Land and lot sales 19,266 8,422 39,069 18,051
Mortgage origination
revenue 16,801 14,689 57,152 41,006
Intercompany elimination -
mortgage (3,560) (4,328) (15,834) (12,794)
Total revenues $1,039,923 $904,331 $3,177,408 $2,641,173
Cost of home construction
and land sales
Home sales $797,959 $717,347 $2,459,564 $2,109,756
Land and lot sales 18,282 7,642 34,854 15,452
Intercompany elimination -
mortgage (3,560) (4,328) (15,834) (12,794)
Total costs of home
construction and land sales $812,681 $720,661 $2,478,584 $2,112,414
Selling, general and
administrative
Homebuilding operations $107,785 $97,316 $325,657 $269,655
Mortgage origination
operations 9,521 8,078 30,991 22,929
Total selling, general and
administrative $117,306 $105,394 $356,648 $292,584
SOURCE Beazer Homes USA, Inc. CONTACT: Leslie H. Kratcoski, Director, Investor Relations of Beazer Homes USA, Inc., +1-770-829-3700, or email, lkratcos@beazer.com