2nd UPDATE: Beazer Swings To 1Q Loss As Closings, Orders Fall

Builder Beazer Homes USA Inc. (BZH) swung to a fiscal first-quarter loss as closings and revenue plunged in the absence of a federal tax-credit for buyers.

The results, which several analysts said were among the weakest reported in the latest earnings season, dragged shares down 3.5% to $5.26 in early trading. The Atlanta-based company was, by far, the sector's biggest decliner.

Like most builders, Beazer is struggling to sell homes to buyers worried about employment and in a market brimming with bargain-price foreclosed homes. Sales have been particularly slow since a federal credit offering first-time buyers up to $8,000 expired April 30.

"Conditions remained very challenging in the home building sector during our first quarter," Chief Executive Ian J. McCarthy said in the premarket release. "Despite low interest rates and excellent home price affordability, demand for new homes remained at exceptionally low levels."

Still, in a conference call with analysts and investors, McCarthy said buyer traffic has increased recently, providing hope that sales will slowly increase as the sector bounces along the housing downturn's bottom.

"We're positioned for the upturn," he said.

For the quarter ended Dec. 31, Beazer reported a loss of $48.8 million, or 66 cents a share, compared with a year-earlier profit of $48 million, or $1.17 a share. In addition to the tax benefit, the year-earlier result included $8.6 million in write-downs. This quarter's land-related charges were $0.7 million, the lowest level in any quarter since 2005, McCarthy said.

Revenue plunged 48% to $110.3 million. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters most recently forecast a 46-cent loss on $164 million in revenue.

Home building gross margin, excluding impairments and abandonments, fell to 10.7% from 12.5%. The company expects margins to remain challenged in the current quarter.

The cancellation rate increased to 32.1% from 27%, possibly indicating more buyers walked away from deals or couldn't qualify for a mortgage. The average sale price was unchanged for comparable homes. New orders fell 24%.

Closings dropped in each of the company's three regions, tumbling 45% in the West and 41% and 44%, respectively, in the East and Southeast.

"We are hard pressed to find positives from Beazer's quarter (other than impairments)," said Carl Reichardt, a home-builder analyst with Wells Fargo Securities. "All significant income statement items were below our estimates and generally worse than peers' corresponding metrics. Year-over-year orders and closings also fell more than the average for the other six builders which have already reported results for the December quarter."

-By Matt Jarzemsky and Dawn Wotapka, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2240; matthew.jarzemsky@dowjones.com

Beazer Homes USA (NYSE:BZH)
과거 데이터 주식 차트
부터 6월(6) 2024 으로 7월(7) 2024