Meritage Homes Reports Strong Third Quarter 2012 Results

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Oct. 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Meritage Homes Corporation MTH, a leading U.S. homebuilder, today announced third quarter results for the period ended September 30, 2012.

Management comments

"Our results for the third quarter improved across the board, reflecting the benefits of our superior community locations, fresh new product designs and industry-leading energy efficiency. We reported strong year over year increases in home closings, revenue, margins and earnings, as well as home orders, backlog and lot count," said Steven J. Hilton, chairman and chief executive officer of Meritage Homes. "We generated net income of $6.8 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, in the third quarter of 2012, which was negatively impacted by a charge of $8.7 million, or $0.24 per diluted share, for a reserve related to ongoing litigation over one former joint venture project in the Las Vegas area, which is likely to remain unresolved for the foreseeable future. These results reflect a significant improvement over the third quarter of 2011, when we reported a net loss of $3.2 million, or ($0.10) per diluted share.

 "We've been in the early stages of a recovery in the homebuilding industry since the beginning of this year, and Meritage has reported 39% growth in total orders over 2011 during that time, with September being our eleventh consecutive month of year-over-year increases in orders," he continued. "We believe the improving homebuilding industry could serve as a catalyst to help our national economy grow. We have raised additional capital over the past two quarters to take advantage of anticipated opportunities for growth, and have been deploying that capital to acquire more lots and open new communities. At this time, we expect to close between 4,100-4,300 homes in 2012."

Third quarter 2012 operating results compared to 2011

• Net income increased $10.0 million over 2011 to $6.8 million ($0.19 per diluted share) in the third quarter of 2012, compared to a $3.2 million loss in the prior year. The 2012 results included a previously announced $8.7 million charge to increase reserves related to pending litigation surrounding the Nevada joint venture known as South Edge, as explained in an 8-K filed on September 6, 2012, and $417,000 of impairments, compared to impairments of $1.0 million in the prior year.
   
• Home closing revenue increased 54% due to a 43% increase in home closings and an 8% increase in average price over the prior year period.

      Total closings of 1,197 homes for the third quarter was the highest quarterly total since the second quarter of 2010.

• California and Arizona achieved the highest increases in closing revenue, at 209% and 79%, respectively, compared to the third quarter of 2011.

• Home orders increased 33% and combined with a 13% increase in average selling price for a 50% increase in total order value over the third quarter of 2011.

• Total active communities increased to 153 at September 30, 2012, compared to 149 at September 30, 2011.

• Average orders per community during the quarter increased 27% over the prior year to 7.9, compared to 6.2 in 2011. Excluding operations in Nevada that are winding down, the states with the highest orders per community were California, at 12.7; Colorado, at 11.0; and Florida, at 10.1. The greatest accelerations in orders per community over 2011 were in California and Arizona.

• Cancellation rate decreased to 13% in the third quarter of 2012, compared to 17% in the third quarter of 2011, below our historical average cancellation rate in the 20-25% range.

• Ending backlog of orders was up 53% over the prior year, and the total value of orders in backlog was up 70%, aided by an 11% increase in average price per home

• Home closing gross margin increased to 18.6% in the third quarter of 2012 compared to 17.5% in the third quarter of 2011. Margins increased due to sales price increases and construction overhead leverage, partially offset by increases in various cost components.
   
• Commissions and selling expenses decreased by 140 basis points from the prior year, to 7.7% of home closing revenue in the third quarter of 2012, compared to 9.1% of home closing revenue in the third quarter of 2011, as higher closing revenue resulted in greater leverage of the fixed components within selling costs.
   
• General and administrative expenses for the third quarter of 2012 decreased by 200 basis points to 5.6% of total revenue in 2012, compared to 7.6% of total revenue in 2011.
   
• Interest expense decreased to $5.0 million or 1.5% of revenue in the third quarter of 2012, despite additional debt issued during the quarter, compared to $7.5 million or 3.5% of revenue in the third quarter of 2011. A greater portion of interest incurred was capitalized to assets under development, and interest expense leverage improved with increased revenue.
   
• Pre-tax margin increased 340 basis points to 2.0% in the third quarter of 2012, despite the litigation-related charge which reduced pre-tax margin by 250 basis points, as compared to a (1.4%) pre-tax margin in the third quarter of 2011.

Year to date 2012 operating results compared to 2011

• Net income of $10.0 million for the first nine months of 2012 included a $5.8 million loss on early extinguishment of debt and $1.6 million of impairments, in addition to the $8.7 million charge related to litigation surrounding the South Edge joint venture, and a $4.8 million net tax benefit primarily due to the reversal of most of a valuation allowance previously recorded against the company's deferred state tax asset in Florida. By comparison, the $9.3 million loss in the third quarter of 2011 included $2.3 million of impairments and a tax provision of $560,000.
   
• Pre-tax income increased $14.0 million to $5.2 million in the first nine months of 2012, from a pre-tax loss of $8.8 million in the first nine months of 2011. Adjusted pre-tax income excluding the loss on extinguishment of debt, impairments and the charge related to the South Edge litigation was $21.3 million for the first nine months of 2012, compared to an adjusted pre-tax loss of $6.5 million, excluding impairments, for the same period in 2011.
   
• Home closings and closing revenue increased 26% and 33%, respectively, for the first nine months of 2012 as compared to 2011.
   
• Year-to-date home closing gross margins improved by 60 basis points to 18.2% for the first nine months of 2012, compared to 17.6% for 2011.
   
• Year-to-date net orders through September 30, 2012 increased 39% in 2012 over 2011, and combined with a 9% increase in average sales prices to result in total order value increasing 51% year over year.

Balance sheet items

• Cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and securities at September 30, 2012, totaled $386.9 million, compared to $333.2 million at December 31, 2011 and $357.2 million at September 30, 2011.
   
• Net increase in cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash and securities of $182.2 million during the third quarter of 2012 resulted from increased closings and net proceeds from capital transactions, partially offset by land spending and increases in real estate assets.

• Raised approximately $87.1 million in net proceeds from an equity offering of 2.65 million common shares in July of 2012.

• Raised approximately $122.3 million in net proceeds from the issuance of $126.5 million aggregate principle amount of 1.875% convertible senior notes due 2032, in September of 2012, with a 47.5% conversion premium.

• Cash spent on land and development during the third quarter of 2012 totaled $114.1 million, including the purchase of 2,129 lots.

• Total real estate assets of $1.0 billion at September 30, 2012, compared to $815.4 million at December 31, 2011 and $798.1 million one year ago.

• Ended the quarter with 17,842 total lots under control, of which 85% were owned, compared to 17,586 at June 30, 2012 and 16,049 at September 30, 2011, a net increase of approximately 1,800 lots over the prior year.
   
• Put in place a $125 million credit facility for additional liquidity to finance growth. Nothing was drawn on the facility through September 30, 2012.
   
• Net debt-to-capital ratio at September 30, 2012 was 36.0%, compared to 33.4% at September 30, 2011.

Conference call

Management will host a conference call today to discuss the Company's results at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time (7:30 a.m. Pacific Time). The call will be webcast by Business-to-Investor, Inc. (B2i), with an accompanying slideshow on the "Investor Relations" page of the Company's web site at http://investors.meritagehomes.com. For telephone participants, the dial-in number is 877-317-6789 and the conference number is 10019347. Participants are encouraged to dial in five minutes before the call begins. A replay of the call will be available for fifteen days, beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET on October 25, 2012 on the website noted above, or by dialing 877-344-7529, and referencing conference number 10019347. For more information, visit meritagehomes.com.

About Meritage Homes Corporation

Meritage Homes is the ninth-largest public homebuilder in the United States based on homes closed in 2011. Meritage builds a variety of homes across the Southern and Western states to appeal to a wide range of buyers, including first-time, move-up, luxury and active adults. As of September 30, 2012, the company had 153 actively selling communities in 15 metropolitan areas, including Northern California, East Bay/Central Valley and Southern California, Houston, Dallas/Ft. Worth, Austin, San Antonio, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Tucson, Las Vegas, Denver, Orlando, Tampa and Raleigh-Durham. In 2012, Meritage also announced its entry into the Charlotte market.

Meritage is an industry leader in innovation and energy efficiency. Meritage was the first national homebuilder to be 100 percent ENERGY STAR^® qualified in every home it builds, and far exceeds ENERGY STAR standards in most of its communities. Meritage has designed and built more than 75,000 homes in its 27-year history, and has a reputation for its distinctive style, quality construction, and positive customer experience.

For more information, visit meritagehomes.com.

The Meritage Homes Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=2624

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include those regarding the Company's expectations for a continued rebound in the homebuilding industry, its projected closings in 2012 and 2013, and its ability to use additional capital to grow, all of which are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. The Company makes no commitment, and disclaims any duty, to update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect future events or changes in these expectations.

Meritage's business is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. As a result of those risks and uncertainties, the Company's stock and note prices may fluctuate dramatically. The risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to the following: weakness in the homebuilding market resulting from an unexpected setback in the current economic recovery; interest rates and changes in the availability and pricing of residential mortgages; adverse changes in tax laws that benefit our homebuyers; the ability of our potential buyers to sell their existing homes; cancellation rates and home prices in our markets; inflation in the cost of materials used to construct homes; the adverse effect of slower order absorption rates; potential write-downs or write-offs of assets, including pre-acquisition costs and deposits; the availability of finished lots and undeveloped land; our potential exposure to natural disasters; the liquidity of our joint ventures and the ability of our joint venture partners to meet their obligations to us and the joint venture; competition; the success of our strategies in the current homebuilding market and economic environment; the adverse impacts of cancellations resulting from small deposits relating to our sales contracts; construction defect and home warranty claims; our success in prevailing on contested tax positions; the impact of deferred tax valuation allowances and our ability to preserve our operating loss carryforwards; our ability to obtain performance bonds in connection with our development work; the loss of key personnel; our failure to comply with laws and regulations; the availability and cost of materials and labor; our lack of geographic diversification; fluctuations in quarterly operating results; the Company's financial leverage and level of indebtedness; our ability to take certain actions because of restrictions contained in the indentures for the Company's senior and senior subordinated notes and our ability to raise additional capital when and if needed; our credit ratings; successful integration of future acquisitions; government regulations and legislative or other initiatives that seek to restrain growth or new housing construction or similar measures; acts of war; the replication of our "Green" technologies by our competitors; our exposure to information technology failures and security breaches; and other factors identified in documents filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those set forth in our Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011 and most recent 10-Q under the caption "Risk Factors," which can be found on our website.