Beazer Homes Reports Record First Fiscal Quarter EPS of $3.41, Up 24%
ATLANTA, Jan. 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (NYSE: BZH) ( www.beazer.com ) today announced results for the quarter ended December 31, 2003, reporting record earnings for the quarter. Highlights of the quarter, compared to the same period of the prior year, are as follows:
Quarter Ended December 31, 2003
- Record diluted EPS: $3.41 (up 24% vs. $2.75 in prior year)
- Home closings: 3,608 (up 4%)
- Total revenues: $810.1 million (up 16%)
- Gross Profit: $165.2 million (up 21%)
- Gross margin: 20.4% (up 90 basis points)
- Operating Income: $75.7 million (up 28%)
- Operating Income margin: 9.3% (up 90 basis points)
- Net income: $47.2 million (up 28%)
- New orders: 3,304 (up 5%)
- Backlog at 12/31/03: 7,122 homes (up 15%), sales value $1.65 billion
(up 34%)
- Active Subdivisions at 12/31/03: 506 (up 8%)
Record Earnings for December Quarter
"We are pleased to announce strong financial results for our first quarter of fiscal 2004," said President and Chief Executive Officer Ian J. McCarthy. "Our home closings, revenues and new orders were all December quarter records, indicating continued strength in the housing industry and Beazer Homes' position in the market. This was accompanied by record earnings for the quarter, illustrating our ongoing commitment to achieving profitable growth by leveraging our size, scale and geographic reach, and continuing to execute specific growth and profitability initiatives."
"Beazer Homes' backlog now stands at 7,122 homes with a sales value of $1.65 billion, up 15% and 34%, respectively, from the backlog homes and sales value at December 31, 2002. This sizable backlog increase provides excellent visibility as we move forward in fiscal 2004," added McCarthy.
Strong Financial Position; Profit Margin Expansion in December Quarter
"Beazer Homes' financial position remained strong during the first fiscal quarter," said James O'Leary, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "At December 31, 2003, debt to total capitalization and net debt to total capitalization stood at 48% and 45%, respectively, with a cash balance of $102.2 million. Furthermore, we achieved continued profit margin improvement as we continue to execute on our profit improvement initiatives."
During the first fiscal quarter of 2004, the Company increased both its gross margin and operating margin by 90 basis points compared to the same period a year ago, inclusive of increased marketing expenses associated with the Company's initiative to strengthen and leverage its brand identity. This improvement reflects continued strong industry fundamentals and continued emphasis on improved profitability. These gains were achieved despite weaker performance in the Company's Midwest operations and the inclusion of additional warranty expenses associated with construction defect claims from water intrusion at one of its Midwest divisions. The Company intends to focus efforts on improving performance in the Midwest operations and is commencing a strategic and financial review of these operations to develop an improvement plan. At this time the elements and any related costs or financial impact of such improvement plan can not be determined or estimated.
Beazer Homes Reiterates Target 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. "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 drive best practices to achieve optimal efficiencies, will place us in a strong position for continued growth. As such, we reiterate our expectation of generating 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.
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, the possibility that the Company's improvement plan for the Midwest will not achieve desired results, and other factors described in the Company's 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
December 31,
2003 2002
INCOME STATEMENT
Revenues $810,108 $700,160
Costs and expenses:
Home construction and land sales 644,949 563,717
Selling, general and
administrative expense 89,507 77,377
Operating income 75,652 59,066
Other income 1,702 1,959
Income before income taxes and
extraordinary item 77,354 61,025
Income taxes 30,168 24,105
Net income $47,186 $36,920
Net income per common share:
Basic $3.55 $2.88
Diluted $3.41 $2.75
Weighted average shares outstanding,
in thousands:
Basic 13,281 12,811
Diluted 13,829 13,424
Interest incurred $16,871 $16,582
Interest amortized to cost of sales $13,687 $11,900
Depreciation and amortization $4,014 $2,731
SELECTED BALANCE SHEET DATA December 31,
2003 2002
Cash $102,267 $80,830
Inventory 1,960,408 1,418,280
Total assets 2,450,391 1,889,507
Total debt 948,465 739,417
Shareholders' equity 1,043,254 837,516
BEAZER HOMES USA, INC.
CONSOLIDATED OPERATING AND FINANCIAL DATA (Continued)
(Dollars in thousands)
OPERATING DATA
Quarter Ended
December 31,
SELECTED OPERATING DATA 2003 2002
Closings:
Southeast region 1,257 1,093
West region 1,214 1,040
Central region 240 266
Mid-Atlantic region 318 295
Midwest region 579 788
Total closings 3,608 3,482
New orders, net of cancellations:
Southeast region 1,043 1,015
West region 1,454 939
Central region 185 232
Mid-Atlantic region 316 452
Midwest region 306 503
Total new orders 3,304 3,141
Backlog at end of period 7,122 6,178
Dollar value of backlog at end of
period $1,651,319 $1,234,479
Active subdivisions:
Southeast region 178 179
West region 105 84
Central region 40 31
Mid-Atlantic region 48 39
Midwest region 135 135
Total active subdivisions 506 468
Quarter Ended
December 31,
SUPPLEMENTAL FINANCIAL DATA: 2003 2002
Revenues
Home sales $793,297 $688,770
Land and lot sales 7,735 2,495
Mortgage origination revenue 12,146 12,484
Intercompany elimination - mortgage (3,070) (3,589)
Total revenues $810,108 $700,160
Cost of home construction and land
sales
Home sales $640,117 $565,364
Land and lot sales 7,902 1,942
Intercompany elimination - mortgage (3,070) (3,589)
Total costs of home construction and
land sales $644,949 $563,717
Selling, general and administrative
Homebuilding operations $82,113 $70,516
Mortgage origination operations 7,394 6,861
Total selling, general and
administrative $89,507 $77,377
SOURCE Beazer Homes USA, Inc. CONTACT: Leslie H. Kratcoski, Director, Investor Relations of Beazer Homes USA, Inc., +1-770-829-3764, or lkratcos@beazer.com