ATLANTA, Oct. 15 /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 first quarter ended August 31, 2007.
Highlights included:
— Net loss of $10.6 million on revenues of $97.5 million, as compared to
net income of $11.5 million on revenues of $156.6 million in the prior
year's first quarter;
— Home closings of 361, down 32.3% as compared to the first quarter of
fiscal year 2007;
— Net new home orders of 259 for the quarter ended August 31, 2007,
representing a decrease of 28.1% compared to the same period in the
prior year;
— Inventory impairments of $13.5 million, as compared to $5.1 million in
the prior year's first quarter.
Tom Krobot, President and Chief Executive Officer of ASHTON WOODS USA L.L.C., said, “Our financial results for the fiscal first quarter ending August 31, 2008 reflect the continued deterioration of the housing market. The homebuilding market continues to suffer from an excess supply of new and used homes available for sale in the market place, which has been exacerbated by the sub-prime mortgage credit crunch experienced in recent months.
Mr. Krobot continued, “We experienced declines in net new home orders, home closings and net income in the fiscal first quarter of 2008 as compared to the same period in the prior year as fewer potential homebuyers have been able to qualify for a mortgage loan as compared to a year ago, resulting in a smaller pool of homebuyers and impacting the sale of existing homes by our move-up buyers. Additionally, the demand for new homes has declined as consumers continue to see home prices adjust downward, which has contributed to the weakening of consumer confidence.”
Bob Salomon, Chief Financial Officer of ASHTON WOODS USA L.L.C., said, “We have made significant strides in reducing our cost structure to meet the lower levels of demand for new homes and remain committed to maintaining a conservative balance sheet through the homebuilding downturn. We have focused our efforts on generating net new home orders through the use of various sales incentives to improve sales absorptions and maintain existing backlog. Our supply of land owned and controlled at 3.4 years is one of the most conservative in the industry and places us in position to capitalize on market opportunities in the future.”
The Company will hold a conference call on Tuesday, October 16, 2007, at 2:00 pm EDT to discuss the results and take questions. To access the conference call, participants should dial 800-762-6568. Participants may call in beginning at 1:50 pm EDT. The call will be recorded and replayed beginning 5:30 pm EDT on October 16, 2007 through 11:59 PM EDT on November 16, 2007. To access the replay dial 800-475-6701 (reference conference code 889687).
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.
ASHTON WOODS USA L.L.C.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (UNAUDITED)
August 31, 2007 May 31, 2007
($ in thousands)
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents $176 $38
Inventory:
Construction in progress and
finished homes 158,891 145,434
Land and land under development 217,236 233,504
Real estate not owned 5,158 5,865
Property and equipment, net 7,822 7,405
Accounts receivable 2,285 3,775
Other assets 13,280 14,997
Investments in unconsolidated entities 5,327 5,455
$410,175 $416,473
Liabilities and Members' equity
Liabilities
Notes payable $190,498 $188,039
Customer deposits 6,548 6,917
Liabilities related to real estate
not owned 4,145 4,767
Accounts payable and accruals 45,946 43,059
Total liabilities 247,137 242,782
Minority interests in real estate not
owned 809 697
Members' equity 162,229 172,994
$410,175 $416,473
ASHTON WOODS USA L.L.C.
CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED)
Three Months Ended
August 31,
2007 2006
($ in thousands)
Statement of Operations Data:
Revenues
Home sales $97,410 $149,357
Land sales — 6,982
Other 93 303
97,503 156,642
Cost of sales
Home sales 91,821 121,496
Land sales — 2,643
91,821 124,139
Gross profit
Home sales 5,589 27,861
Land sales — 4,339
Other 93 303
5,682 32,503
Expenses
Sales and marketing 7,390 9,241
General and administrative 7,882 10,475
Related Party 217 320
Franchise taxes 15 53
Depreciation and amortization 1,309 1,548
16,813 21,637
Earnings in unconsolidated entities 516 616
Net (loss) income $(10,615) $11,482
Other Data:
Home gross margin 5.7% 18.7%
Ratio of sales and marketing, general
and administrative and related
party expenses to revenues 15.9% 12.8%
Ratio of net (loss) income to revenues (10.9%) 7.3%
EBITDA $(6,898) $15,356
Net new home orders 259 360
Backlog (units) at end of period 719 1,076
Land Impairments $13,541 $5,102
Three Months Ended
August 31,
2007 2006
($ in thousands)
Net (loss) income $(10,615) $11,482
Franchise taxes 15 53
Depreciation and amortization 1,309 1,548
Interest expense in cost of sales 2,393 2,273
EBITDA $(6,898) $15,356
Three Months Ended
August 31,
2007 2006 Change %
Homes closed (units):
Atlanta 55 113 (58) (51.3%)
Orlando 67 89 (22) (24.7%)
Tampa 17 2 15 750.0%
East 139 204 (65) (31.9%)
Dallas 81 131 (50) (38.2%)
Houston 73 106 (33) (31.1%)
Phoenix 57 92 (35) (38.0%)
Denver 11 – 11 n/m
West 222 329 (107) (32.5%)
Company total 361 533 (172) (32.3%)
Three Months Ended
August 31,
2007 2006 Change %
Average sales price per home closed
($ in thousands):
Atlanta $280 $278 $2 0.7%
Orlando 326 267 59 22.1%
Tampa 342 313 29 9.3%
East 310 272 38 14.0%
Dallas 219 222 (3) (1.4%)
Houston 223 213 10 4.7%
Phoenix 305 456 (151) (33.1%)
Denver 271 – 271 n/m
West 245 306 (61) (19.9%)
Company total $270 $293 $(23) (7.9%)
Three Months Ended
August 31,
2007 2006 Change %
Net new home orders (units):
Atlanta 56 88 (32) (36.4%)
Orlando 31 27 4 14.8%
Tampa 17 13 4 30.8%
East 104 128 (24) (18.8%)
Dallas 45 94 (49) (52.1%)
Houston 59 121 (62) (51.2%)
Phoenix 43 17 26 152.9%
Denver 8 – 8 n/m
West 155 232 (77) (33.2%)
Company total 259 360 (101) (28.1%)
Three Months Ended
August 31,
2007 2006 Change %
Active communities at end of
period:
Atlanta 8 10 (2) (20.0%)
Orlando 6 8 (2) (25.0%)
Tampa 3 3 – 0.0%
East 17 21 (4) (19.0%)
Dallas 11 11 – 0.0%
Houston 10 13 (3) (23.1%)
Phoenix 8 8 – 0.0%
Denver 1 – 1 n/m
West 30 32 (2) (6.3%)
Company total 47 53 (6) (11.3%)
Three Months Ended
August 31,
2007 2006 Change %
Backlog (units) at end of period:
Atlanta 83 178 (95) (53.4%)
Orlando 90 281 (191) (68.0%)
Tampa 32 46 (14) (30.4%)
East 205 505 (300) (59.4%)
Dallas 176 253 (77) (30.4%)
Houston 141 184 (43) (23.4%)
Phoenix 178 134 44 32.8%
Denver 19 – 19 n/m
West 514 571 (57) (10.0%)
Company total 719 1,076 (357) (33.2%)
Three Months Ended
August 31,
2007 2006 Change %
Sales value of backlog at end of
period ($ in thousands):
Atlanta $26,786 $51,139 $(24,353) (47.6%)
Orlando 36,321 94,844 (58,523) (61.7%)
Tampa 11,367 18,030 (6,663) (37.0%)
East 74,474 164,013 (89,539) (54.6%)
Dallas 40,203 60,964 (20,761) (34.1%)
Houston 33,243 43,780 (10,537) (24.1%)
Phoenix 63,105 56,383 6,722 11.9%
Denver 5,116 – 5,116 n/m
West 141,667 161,127 (19,460) (12.1%)
Company total $216,141 $325,140 $(108,999) (33.5%)
SOURCE Ashton Woods USA L.L.C.
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