WCI Communities Announces 2016 Third Quarter Results

BONITA SPRINGS, Fla., Nov. 1, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- WCI Communities, Inc. WCIC, a lifestyle community developer and luxury homebuilder, today announced results for the third quarter ended September 30, 2016.

Third Quarter 2016 Results and Selected Comparisons to Third Quarter 2015

• Deliveries of 345, up 33.7%
• Homebuilding revenues of $156.6 million, up 30.0%
• Net income attributable to common shareholders of $8.8 million including merger expenses of $7.7 million
• Adjusted EBITDA of $26.6 million, up 25.7%
• Earnings per diluted share of $0.33 including merger expenses of $0.18 per diluted share
• Gross margin from homes delivered of 26.2%
• Adjusted gross margin from homes delivered of 28.6%
• Debt to capital of 33.7%
• Net debt to net capitalization of 26.4%
• Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percent of Homebuilding revenues improved by 50 basis points
• Average selling price per new order of $414,000, down 8.0%
  • Average selling price per new order, excluding high-rise tower new orders, up 4.2%
• Contract value of new orders of $96.4 million, down 22.8%
• New orders of 233, down 15.9%
• Backlog contract value of $246.7 million, down 17.9%
• Backlog units totaling 474, down 26.6%
• Land portfolio totals 14,011 owned or controlled home sites

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2016 Results and Selected Comparisons to Prior Year Period

• Deliveries of 906, up 41.8%
• Homebuilding revenues of $398.4 million, up 31.4%
• Net income attributable to common shareholders of $24.8 million including merger expenses of $7.7 million
• Adjusted EBITDA of $62.0 million, up 19.4%
• Earnings per diluted share of $0.93 including merger expenses of $0.18 per diluted share
• Gross margin from homes delivered of 25.5%
• Adjusted gross margin from homes delivered of 28.0%
• Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percent of Homebuilding revenues improved by 80 basis points
• Average selling price per new order of $459,000, up 4.1%
• Contract value of new orders of $372.0 million, down 5.6%
• New orders of 811, down 9.2%

Third Quarter 2016 Results

The Company delivered 345 homes in the third quarter of 2016, an increase of 87 units, or 33.7%, from the prior year quarter.  The average selling price per home delivered during the quarter ended September 30, 2016 was $454,000, a decrease of 1.7%, compared to $462,000 in the third quarter of 2015.

The Company generated total revenues of $186.2 million for the quarter ended September 30, 2016, an increase of $36.0 million, or 24.0%, compared to $150.2 million in the third quarter of 2015. Compared to the prior year quarter, Homebuilding revenues grew 30.0%, Real Estate Services revenues were effectively flat, and Amenities revenues decreased by 4.3%.  Amenities revenues in 2016 were reduced by the deconsolidation of one of our joint ventures in accordance with the provisions of Accounting Standards Update 2015-02.

Selling, general and administrative expenses as a percentage of Homebuilding revenues were 12.8%, an improvement of 50 basis points from the prior year period.  Merger expenses related to the previously announced merger agreement with Lennar Corporation totaled $7.7 million in the third quarter of 2016.

For the quarter ended September 30, 2016, net income attributable to common shareholders was $8.8 million, or $0.33 per diluted share, including merger related expenses of $7.7 million, or $0.18 per diluted share.  The prior year period net income attributable to common shareholders was $10.2 million, or $0.38 per diluted share.

Homebuilding gross margin percentage was 26.2% in the third quarter of 2016, representing a decline of 70 basis points as compared to the third quarter of 2015.  Adjusted gross margin from homes delivered, a non-GAAP financial measure, was 28.6% in the quarter ended September 30, 2016, representing a 90 basis point decrease from the prior year quarter.  The decline was primarily attributable to a shift in delivery mix as the percentage of deliveries from communities owned as of September 2009 declined from 62% in the prior year quarter to 42% in the third quarter of 2016.

New orders during the third quarter of 2016 decreased 15.9% to 233, and the average selling price per new order decreased by 8.0% to $414,000 as compared to the third quarter of 2015.  The contract value of new orders was $96.4 million for the third quarter of 2016, a decrease of $28.4 million from the prior year quarter.   

As of September 30, 2016, the backlog contract value was $246.7 million, a decrease of $53.8 million from the prior year.  The average selling price of backlog units was $520,000, an increase of 11.8% from the prior year.

Merger Agreement with Lennar

On September 22, 2016, WCI Communities and Lennar Corporation entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Lennar will acquire all the outstanding shares of WCI Communities.  The merger consideration for each WCI share will be $11.75 in cash and a fraction of a share of Lennar Class A common stock with a value of $11.75.  Lennar has the option of varying the portions of the $23.50 per share merger consideration that will be cash and Lennar stock, including paying the entire merger consideration in cash. The transaction has been approved by both companies' Board of Directors.

Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to the financial measures prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), this press release contains the non-GAAP financial measures of EBITDA, Adjusted EBITDA, Adjusted gross margin from homes delivered and net debt to net capitalization.  The reasons for the use of these measures, reconciliations of these measures to the most directly comparable GAAP measures and other information relating to these measures are included below following the unaudited consolidated financial statements.

About WCI Communities, Inc.

WCI Communities is a lifestyle community developer and luxury homebuilder of single- and multi-family homes, including luxury high-rise tower units, in most of coastal Florida's highest growth and largest markets. With a legacy that spans more than 60 years, WCI Communities has an established expertise in developing amenity-rich, lifestyle-oriented master-planned communities, catering to move-up, active adult and second-home buyers. Headquartered in Bonita Springs, Florida, WCI Communities is a fully integrated homebuilder and developer with complementary real estate brokerage and title services businesses.

To learn more about WCI Communities, please visit the Company's website at www.WCICommunities.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Any statements made in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including statements about the Company's beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws, and should be evaluated as such. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements we make regarding expectations about our merger agreement with Lennar Corporation, business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, liquidity, income taxes, prospects, growth strategies, potential acquisitions, and the industry in which we operate, including housing market trends and fluctuations and our ability to capitalize on demographic, economic and real estate fundamentals and build shareholder value. The Company bases these forward-looking statements or projections on its current expectations, plans and assumptions that it has made in light of its experience in the industry, as well as its perceptions of historical trends, current conditions, expected future developments and other factors it believes are appropriate under the circumstances and at such time. Actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the failure to consummate our merger agreement with Lennar Corporation; a slowing or reversal of the present ongoing recovery of the housing market, either on a national level or in Florida; changing local and economic conditions and the cyclical nature of the housing business; rising levels of unemployment; substantial increases in mortgage interest rates, the unavailability of mortgage financing or changes in tax laws, which make home ownership more expensive or less attractive; and poor weather conditions or natural disasters. For more information concerning these and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company's "Risk Factors" in Item 1A of Part I of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 that was filed by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 22, 2016 and elsewhere therein, and subsequent filings by the Company. As you read and consider this press release, you should understand that the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance or results. The forward-looking statements and projections are subject to and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions and you should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements or projections. Although the Company believes that these forward-looking statements and projections are based on reasonable assumptions at the time they are made, you should be aware that many factors could affect the Company's actual financial results or results of operations and could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements and projections. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. If the Company does update one or more forward-looking statement, there should be no inference that it will make additional updates with respect to those or its other forward-looking statements.

 

 

 

 

Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures

In addition to the results reported in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("GAAP"), we have provided information in this press release pertaining to adjusted gross margin from homes delivered, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA (both such terms are defined below), and net debt to net capitalization.   Our GAAP-based measures can be found in this press release and in our unaudited consolidated financial statements in Item 1 of Part I of the Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2016 that we plan to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission on or before November 8, 2016. The presentation of historical non-GAAP measures herein does not reflect or endorse any forecast of future financial performance.

Adjusted Gross Margin from Homes Delivered

We subtract the gross margin from land and home sites sales, if any, from Homebuilding gross margin to arrive at gross margin from homes delivered. We then add back asset impairments, if any, and capitalized interest in cost of sales to gross margin from homes delivered to arrive at adjusted gross margin from homes delivered. Management uses adjusted gross margin from homes delivered to evaluate operating performance in our Homebuilding segment and make strategic decisions regarding sales price, construction and development pace, product mix and other operating decisions. We believe that adjusted gross margin from homes delivered is (i) meaningful because it eliminates the impact that our indebtedness and asset impairments have on gross margin and (ii) relevant and useful to shareholders, investors and other interested parties for evaluating our comparative operating performance from period to period and among companies within the homebuilding industry as it is reflective of overall profitability during any given reporting period. However, this measure is considered a non-GAAP financial measure and should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, the comparable GAAP financial measures when evaluating our operating performance. Although other companies in the homebuilding industry report similar information, they may calculate this measure differently than we do and, therefore, it may not be comparable. We urge shareholders, investors and other interested parties to understand the methods used by other companies in the homebuilding industry to calculate gross margins and any adjustments to such amounts before comparing our measures to those of such other companies.

The table below reconciles adjusted gross margin from homes delivered to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, Homebuilding gross margin, for the periods presented herein.

EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA

Adjusted EBITDA measures performance by adjusting net income (loss) attributable to common shareholders of WCI Communities, Inc. to exclude, if any, interest expense, capitalized interest in cost of sales, income taxes, depreciation (''EBITDA''), income (loss) from discontinued operations, other income, stock-based compensation expense, merger expenses, asset impairments and expenses related to early repayment of debt. We believe that the presentation of Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to shareholders, investors and other interested parties regarding our results of operations because it assists those parties and us when analyzing and benchmarking the performance and value of our business. We also believe that Adjusted EBITDA is useful as a measure of comparative operating performance from period to period and among companies in the homebuilding industry as it is reflective of changes in pricing decisions, cost controls and other factors that affect operating performance. Furthermore, Adjusted EBITDA eliminates the effects of our capital structure (such as interest expense), asset base (primarily depreciation), items outside of our control (primarily income taxes) and the volatility related to the timing and extent of non-operating activities (such as merger expenses, discontinued operations and asset impairments). Accordingly, we believe that this measure is useful for comparing general operating performance from period to period. Other companies in our industry may define Adjusted EBITDA differently and, as a result, our measure of Adjusted EBITDA may not be directly comparable. Although we use EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA as financial measures to assess the performance of our business, the use of such EBITDA-based measures is limited because they do not include certain material costs, such as interest and income taxes, necessary to operate our business. EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should be considered in addition to, and not as substitutes for, net income (loss) in accordance with GAAP as a measure of our performance. Our presentation of EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA should not be construed as an indication that our future results will be unaffected by unusual or nonrecurring items.

Our EBITDA-based measures have limitations as analytical tools and, therefore, shareholders, investors and other interested parties should not consider them in isolation or as substitutes for analyses of our results as reported under GAAP.  Some such limitations are:

• they do not reflect the impact of earnings or charges resulting from matters that we consider not to be indicative of our ongoing operations;
• they are not adjusted for all non-cash income or expense items that are reflected in our consolidated statements of cash flows;
• they do not reflect the interest that is necessary to service our debt; and
• other companies in our industry may calculate these measures differently than we do, thereby limiting their usefulness as comparative measures.

Because of these limitations, our EBITDA-based measures are not intended to be alternatives to net income (loss), indicators of our operating performance, alternatives to any other measure of performance under GAAP or alternatives to cash flow provided by (used in) operating activities as measures of liquidity. Shareholders, investors and other interested parties should therefore not place undue reliance on our EBITDA-based measures or ratios calculated using those measures.

The table below reconciles EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, net income attributable to common shareholders of WCI Communities, Inc., for the periods presented herein.

 

 

 

Net Debt to Net Capitalization

We believe that net debt to net capitalization provides us with useful information regarding our financial position and cash and debt management. It is also a relevant financial measure to help us assess the leverage employed in our operations and it is an indicator of our ability to obtain future financing. However, this measure is considered a non-GAAP financial measure and should be considered in addition to, rather than as a substitute for, the comparable GAAP financial measures when evaluating our leverage.

By deducting cash and cash equivalents from our outstanding debt, we provide a measure of our debt that considers our cash position. We believe that this approach provides useful information because the ratio of debt to capital does not consider our cash and cash equivalents and we believe that a debt ratio net of cash, such as net debt to net capitalization, provides supplemental information by which our financial position may be considered. Shareholders, investors and other interested parties may also find this information helpful when comparing our leverage to the leverage of other companies in our industry. Although other companies in the homebuilding industry report similar information, they may calculate this measure differently than we do and, therefore, it may not be comparable. We urge shareholders, investors and other interested parties to understand the methods used by other companies in the homebuilding industry to calculate leverage ratios such as net debt to net capitalization, including any adjustments to such amounts, before comparing our measures to those of such other companies.

The table below presents the computations of our net debt to net capitalization and reconciles such amounts to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure, debt to capital. 

 

 

Investor Relations Contact:
Scott Bowles – ir@wcicommunities.com – (239) 498-8481

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SOURCE WCI Communities, Inc.