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Ashton Woods USA L.L.C. Reports 2008 Third Quarter Results and Conference Call
ATLANTA, April 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ASHTON WOODS USA L.L.C. (Bloomberg: ASHWOO) (CUSIP: 045086 AB 1), one of the nation's largest private homebuilders based on number of closings and revenues, today reported financial results for its fiscal third quarter ended February 29, 2008.
Highlights included:
-- Net loss of $22.4 million on revenues of $83.0 million, as compared to
net income of $6.2 million on revenues of $129.4 million in the prior
year's third quarter;
-- Home closings of 300, down 32.1% as compared to the third quarter of
fiscal year 2007;
-- Net new home orders of 311 for the quarter ended February 29, 2008,
representing a decrease of 28.2% compared to the same period in the
prior year and an increase of 93% since last quarter;
-- Speculative units down 19% to 202, from 250 units in the second
quarter; and
-- Inventory impairments of $20.3 million, as compared to $1.8 million in
the prior year's third quarter.
Tom Krobot, President and Chief Executive Officer of ASHTON WOODS USA L.L.C., said, "Our financial results for the fiscal third quarter ending February 29, 2008 reflect the continued deterioration of the housing market as inventory levels of new and used homes remain high. Although there continues to be a decline in the availability of mortgage financing, our incentive efforts on homes have lowered cancellation rates during the quarter resulting in an increase in net new home orders and a decrease in speculative units since the second quarter." The Company will hold a conference call on Tuesday, April 15, 2008, at 10:00 am EDT to discuss the results and take questions. To access the conference call, participants should dial (800) 398-9402. Participants may call in beginning at 9:50 am EDT. The call will be recorded and replayed beginning 12:00 PM EDT on April 15, 2008 through 11:59 PM EDT on May 15, 2008. To access the replay dial (800) 475-6701 (reference conference code 918707). With headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia, Ashton Woods USA L.L.C. is one of the nation's largest private homebuilders based on the number of home closings and revenues. The Company currently operates in Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Orlando, Phoenix, Denver and Tampa. Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures In addition to the results in this press release reported in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States ("GAAP"), the Company has provided below information regarding EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization). EBITDA is not a GAAP financial measure. EBITDA is a measure commonly used in the homebuilding industry and is presented as a useful adjunct to net income and other measurements under GAAP because it is a meaningful measure of a company's performance, as interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization can vary significantly between companies due in part to differences in structure, accounting policies, tax strategies, levels of indebtedness, capital purchasing practices and interest rates. EBITDA also assists management in evaluating operating performance, and we believe that it is a useful measure for investors to compare us with our competitors. A reconciliation of EBITDA to net (loss) income, the most directly comparable GAAP measure, is provided below.
ASHTON WOODS USA L.L.C.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
February 29, 2008 May 31, 2007
($ in thousands)
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $2,118 $38
Inventory:
Construction in progress and
finished homes 136,933 145,434
Land and land under development 180,934 233,504
Real estate not owned 5,121 5,865
Property and equipment, net 7,633 7,405
Accounts receivable 2,388 3,775
Other assets 13,034 14,997
Investments in unconsolidated entities 5,260 5,455
$353,421 $416,473
Liabilities and Members' equity
Liabilities
Notes payable $180,415 $188,039
Customer deposits 5,208 6,917
Liabilities related to real estate
not owned 4,387 4,767
Accounts payable and accruals 38,731 43,059
Total liabilities 228,741 242,782
Minority interests in real estate not
owned 568 697
Members' equity 124,112 172,994
$353,421 $416,473
ASHTON WOODS USA L.L.C.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
February February February February
29, 28, 29, 28,
2008 2007 2008 2007
($ in thousands) ($ in thousands)
Statement of Operations Data:
Revenues
Home sales $80,480 $129,037 $279,870 $407,445
Land sales 2,326 170 14,349 7,382
Other 151 219 403 678
82,957 129,426 294,622 415,505
Cost of sales
Home sales 87,653 105,358 282,389 334,747
Land sales 4,210 105 14,251 2,702
91,863 105,463 296,640 337,449
Gross profit (loss)
Home sales (7,173) 23,679 (2,519) 72,698
Land sales (1,884) 65 98 4,680
Other 151 219 403 678
(8,906) 23,963 (2,018) 78,056
Expenses
Sales and marketing 6,453 7,933 21,642 25,497
General and administrative 5,816 9,113 21,225 28,842
Related Party 180 265 612 864
Franchise taxes 38 39 74 153
Depreciation and amortization 1,427 1,326 4,122 4,321
13,914 18,676 47,675 59,677
Earnings in unconsolidated entities 422 887 1,579 2,327
Net (loss) income $(22,398) $6,174 $(48,114) $20,706
Other Data:
Homes closed 300 442 1,020 1,440
Average sales price per home
closed $268 $292 $274 $283
Home gross margin (8.9%) 18.4% (0.9%) 17.8%
Ratio of sales and marketing,
general and administrative and
related party expenses to
revenues 15.0% 13.4% 14.8% 13.3%
Ratio of net (loss) income to
revenues (27.0%) 4.8% (16.3%) 5.0%
Backlog (units) at end of period 532 957 532 957
Sales value of backlog at end of
period $149,465 $270,372 $149,465 $270,372
Active communities at end of
period 49 49 49 49
EBITDA $(15,603) $10,784 $(32,616) $33,695
Net new home orders 311 433 731 1,148
Land impairments $20,282 $1,826 $55,112 $11,304
Reconciliation of Non-GAAP disclosure:
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
February February February February
29, 28, 29, 28,
2008 2007 2008 2007
($ in thousands) ($ in thousands)
Net (loss) income $(22,398) $6,174 $(48,114) $20,706
Franchise taxes 38 39 74 153
Depreciation and amortization 1,427 1,326 4,122 4,321
Interest expense in cost of sales 5,330 3,245 11,302 8,515
EBITDA $(15,603) $10,784 $(32,616) $33,695
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
February February February February
29, 28, 29, 28,
2008 2007 Change % 2008 2007 Change %
Net new home
orders
(units):
East 145 157 (12) (7.6%) 320 443 (123) (27.8%)
West 166 276 (110) (39.9%) 411 705 (294) (41.7%)
Company total 311 433 (122) (28.2%) 731 1,148 (417) (36.3%)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
February February February February
29, 28, 29, 28,
2008 2007 Change % 2008 2007 Change %
Homes closed
(units):
East 100 232 (132) (56.9%) 371 606 (235) (38.8%)
West 200 210 (10) (4.8%) 649 834 (185) (22.2%)
Company total 300 442 (142) (32.1%) 1,020 1,440 (420) (29.2%)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
February February February February
29, 28, 29, 28,
2008 2007 Change % 2008 2007 Change %
Average sales
price per home
closed
($ in thousands):
East 299 313 (14) (4.4%) 323 293 30 10.2%
West 253 269 (16) (5.9%) 246 276 (30) (10.9%)
Company total $268 $292 $(24) (8.2%) $274 $283 $(9) (3.2%)
Three Months Ended Nine Months Ended
February February February February
29, 28, 29, 28,
2008 2007 Change % 2008 2007 Change %
Cancellation
rates at end
of period:
East 15.7% 29.3% (13.6%) (46.4%) 23.8% 31.1% (7.3%) (23.5%)
West 34.4% 22.9% 11.5% 50.2% 41.9% 30.7% 11.2% 36.5%
Company total 26.8% 25.3% 1.5% 5.9% 35.2% 30.8% 4.4% 14.3%
February 29, February 28,
2008 2007 Change %
Backlog (units) at
end of period:
East 189 418 (229) (54.8%)
West 343 539 (196) (36.4%)
Company total 532 957 (425) (44.4%)
February 29, February 28,
2008 2007 Change %
Sales value of backlog
at end of period
($ in thousands):
East 56,788 135,169 (78,381) (58.0%)
West 92,677 135,203 (42,526) (31.5%)
Company total $149,465 $270,372 (120,907) (44.7%)
February 29, February 28,
2008 2007 Change %
Active communities at
end of period:
East 19 20 (1) (5.0%)
West 30 29 1 3.4%
Company total 49 49 - 0.0%
Website: http://www.ashtonwoodshomes.com/ |
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