Meritage Homes Reports Second Quarter 2015 EPS of $0.70, an 18% Increase in Home Closing Revenue and 21% Increase in Home Orders

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Meritage Homes Corporation (NYSE: MTH), a leading U.S. homebuilder, announced today second quarter results for the period ended June 30, 2015.

         
Summary Operating Results (unaudited)
(Dollars in thousands, except per share amounts)
 
Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
2015     2014     %Chg 2015     2014     %Chg
Homes closed (units) 1,556 1,368 14 % 2,891 2,477 17 %
Home closing revenue $ 591,027 $ 502,800 18 % $ 1,108,300 $ 908,579 22 %
Average sales price - closings $ 380 $ 368 3 % $ 383 $ 367 5 %
Home orders (units) 1,986 1,647 21 % 3,965 3,172 25 %
Home order value $ 775,815 $ 618,435 25 % $ 1,558,627 $ 1,173,475 33 %
Average sales price - orders $ 391 $ 375 4 % $ 393 $ 370 6 %
Ending backlog (units) 3,188 2,548 25 %
Ending backlog value $ 1,296,779 $ 951,568 36 %
Average sales price - backlog $ 407 $ 373 9 %
Net earnings $ 29,133 $ 35,079 (17 )% $ 45,533 $ 60,456 (25 )%
Diluted EPS $ 0.70 $ 0.85 (18 )% $ 1.10 $ 1.48 (26 )%
 

MANAGEMENT COMMENTS

“We achieved significant year-over-year growth in the second quarter of 2015, with an 18% increase in home closing revenue, a 21% increase in orders and a 36% increase in our total backlog value,” said Steven J. Hilton, chairman and chief executive officer of Meritage Homes. “Our earnings of $0.70 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2015 were lower than last year’s $0.85 per diluted share due to a decline in home closing margins from last year’s unusually high level of 21.9%.

“Additionally, our second quarter results were significantly stronger than our first quarter this year, with a 75% increase in earnings per diluted share, driven by a 14% increase in home closing revenue and a 19.3% home closing gross margin, compared to our first quarter 2015 margin of 18.5%. We believe we are on track to achieve our projected target margin of approximately 20% for the full year 2015.”

Mr. Hilton continued, “We’ve more than doubled our actively selling communities in the East region over the last year, which drove most of the growth in our second quarter orders, closings and backlog. Our West and Central regions were impacted by abnormally heavy and persistent rain in Texas and Colorado during much of the second quarter, which caused unavoidable delays in starting and completing homes. Our team is working closely with our contractors to catch up as soon as possible. Even so, we estimate that approximately 200 home closings that were expected this year will be pushed out until next year. As a result, we're adjusting our projections for 2015 home closing revenue to $2.65-2.75 billion -- an increase of 24-28% over 2014 -- compared to our previous expectation for 25-30% growth, and we're estimating earnings per diluted share of $3.60-3.90 for the year, compared to our previous full year guidance of $3.75-4.00.

“The housing market continues to benefit from job growth, increasing household formations, consumer confidence and low interest rates. Considering those factors and our broadened position across many of the best housing markets in the country, our long-term outlook is for continued growth and earnings expansion for Meritage Homes,” concluded Mr. Hilton.

SECOND QUARTER RESULTS

  • Net earnings were $29.1 million or $0.70 per diluted share for the second quarter of 2015, compared to $35.1 million or $0.85 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2014, resulting from higher home closing revenue offset by lower gross margins on closings.
  • Home closing revenue increased 18% over the prior year’s second quarter, resulting from a 14% increase in home closings and a 3% increase in the average price of homes closed during the quarter. East region home closing revenue grew 77% and the Central region grew 9% year over year, while West region home closing revenue was down 5% due to a 15% decline in Arizona, where our beginning backlog was reduced by weaker demand and orders in the latter half of 2014.
  • Home closing gross margin improved sequentially to 19.3% in the second quarter of 2015, up from 18.5% in the first quarter of 2015, though lower than the 21.9% achieved a year ago. High margins in 2014 were driven by home price appreciation that exceeded cost inflation in 2013 through the first half of 2014. Purchase accounting adjustments from the acquisition of Legendary Communities last August reduced second quarter total home closing gross margin by 28 bps.
  • General and administrative expenses as a percentage of total second quarter closing revenue decreased slightly to 4.6% from 4.9% in 2015 compared to 2014, while commissions and other sales costs as a percentage of home closing revenue rose slightly in the second quarter to 7.6% in 2015 from 7.2% in 2014.
  • Interest expense increased by $3.2 million year over year to 0.8% of second quarter 2015 total closing revenue, compared to 0.3% of second quarter closing revenue in 2014, primarily due to intra-quarter borrowings on the credit facility and the issuance of $200 million of new senior notes in early June 2015.
  • The effective tax rate was 30% in the second quarter of 2015 compared to 36% in 2014. The difference was primarily due to a tax benefit of approximately $1.3 million in this year's second quarter for increases in estimated federal energy tax credits from prior years’ home closings.
  • Total order value grew 25% to $775.8 million in the second quarter of 2015, compared to $618.4 million in the prior year. Total orders increased 21% and average sales prices rose 4% year over year. The increases were primarily driven by community count growth in the East and West regions over the past year, as well as stronger demand in the West, including Arizona. The two regions grew total order value by 81% and 28%, respectively. Higher sales per average active community in Texas were offset by fewer actively selling communities in 2015 compared to 2014, though Texas is rebuilding and has added seven net new communities in 2015.
  • Average orders per active community during the quarter slowed to 8.5 in the second quarter of 2015 compared to 9.0 in 2014, primarily due to the East region, where average orders per community were 6.7 in the second quarter of 2015, compared to 9.0 in the second quarter of 2014. Georgia and South Carolina, acquired from Legendary in the third quarter of 2014, have historically operated at a lower sales velocity than Meritage’s other markets, and Florida has also experienced a slower sales pace in 2015.
  • Ending community count at June 30, 2015 was 240, compared to 175 at June 30, 2014. The East region added 59 net new communities including 36 in Georgia and South Carolina combined, associated with the acquisition of Legendary Communities in August 2014. The West region grew by nine net new communities over the prior year’s quarter-end count.
  • Ending backlog value at June 30 was 36% higher in 2015 than in 2014, with 25% more units in backlog and a 9% increase in the average price of orders in backlog.

YEAR TO DATE RESULTS

  • Net earnings were $45.5 million for the first half of 2015, compared to $60.5 million for the first half of 2014, as a 22% increase in revenue year to date was more than offset by lower home closing gross margins.
  • Home closings for the first half of the year increased 17% over 2014, with a 5% increase in average prices.
  • Year-to-date home closing gross margin in 2015 was 18.9%, compared to 22.3% for 2014, which exceeded underwriting target levels of approximately 20% due to a rapid rise in home prices in 2013 and early 2014. In contrast, higher land and construction costs in 2015 were not fully offset by modest home price appreciation this year, resulting in reduced margins. Additionally, 2015 home closing margins were negatively impacted by 32 bps due to purchase accounting adjustments on closings from lots acquired from Legendary.
  • Total commissions and selling expenses were 7.8% of year-to-date 2015 home closing revenue, compared to 7.4% in 2014, while general and administrative expenses were flat at 5.1% of total closing revenue in both years.

BALANCE SHEET

  • The company ended the second quarter of 2015 with $217.0 million in cash and cash equivalents plus investments and securities, compared to $103.3 million at December 31, 2014 and $290.6 million at June 30, 2014. The year-over-year decrease in cash reflects the net impact of increased investments in land and homes under construction, partially offset by the proceeds from a new senior notes offering in June 2015.
  • Real estate assets increased to $2.03 billion at June 30, 2015, compared to $1.88 billion at December 31 and $1.64 billion at June 30, 2014.
  • Net debt-to-capital ratio at quarter-end was 44.1% compared to 42.9% at December 31, 2014 and 37.6% at June 30, 2014.
  • In June 2015, the company issued $200 million of 6.0% senior unsecured notes with a maturity date of June 2025, and also extended the maturity of its $500 million revolving credit facility by one year to July 2019 in order to provide ample liquidity for future growth.
  • Total lot supply at the end of the quarter was approximately 29,100, compared to approximately 25,800 a year earlier and 30,300 at year-end 2014. Based on trailing twelve months closings, total lots at June 30, 2015 represented approximately a 4.6 year supply of lots.

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. Arizona Time). The call will be webcast with an accompanying slideshow available on the "Investor Relations" page of the Company's web site at http://investors.meritagehomes.com. Telephone participants may avoid any delays by pre-registering for the call using the following link to receive a special dial-in number and PIN.

Conference Call registration link: http://dpregister.com/10067831.

Telephone participants who are unable to pre-register may dial in to 866-226-4948 on the day of the call. International dial-in number is 1-412-902-4125.

A replay of the call will be available through August 12, 2015, beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET on July 29, 2015 on the website noted above, or by dialing 877-344-7529, and referencing conference number 10067831. For more information, visit www.meritagehomes.com.

         
Meritage Homes Corporation and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Income Statements
(Unaudited)
(In thousands, except per share data)
 
Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
2015     2014 2015     2014
Homebuilding:
Home closing revenue $ 591,027 $ 502,800 $ 1,108,300 $ 908,579
Land closing revenue   6,774     2,804     8,213     5,370  
Total closing revenue   597,801     505,604     1,116,513     913,949  
Cost of home closings (476,790 ) (392,839 ) (898,576 ) (706,019 )
Cost of land closings   (6,262 )   (2,762 )   (7,547 )   (6,355 )
Total cost of closings   (483,052 )   (395,601 )   (906,123 )   (712,374 )
Home closing gross profit 114,237 109,961 209,724 202,560
Land closing gross profit/(loss)   512     42     666     (985 )
Total closing gross profit 114,749 110,003 210,390 201,575
Financial Services:
Revenue 2,741 2,451 5,276 4,350
Expense (1,362 ) (1,131 ) (2,661 ) (2,206 )
Earnings from financial services unconsolidated entities and other, net   2,757     2,297     5,301     4,498  
Financial services profit   4,136     3,617     7,916     6,642  
Commissions and other sales costs (45,167 ) (36,105 ) (86,779 ) (67,039 )
General and administrative expenses (27,650 ) (24,571 ) (57,300 ) (46,242 )
Loss from other unconsolidated entities, net (169 ) (61 ) (292 ) (230 )
Interest expense (4,621 ) (1,396 ) (7,775 ) (4,109 )
Other income, net   136     3,749     551     4,397  
Earnings before income taxes 41,414 55,236 66,711 94,994
Provision for income taxes   (12,281 )   (20,157 )   (21,178 )   (34,538 )
Net earnings $ 29,133   $ 35,079   $ 45,533   $ 60,456  
 
Earnings per share:
Basic
Earnings per share $ 0.73 $ 0.90 $ 1.15 $ 1.55
Weighted average shares outstanding 39,648 39,118 39,520 38,904
Diluted
Earnings per share $ 0.70 $ 0.85 $ 1.10 $ 1.48
Weighted average shares outstanding 42,145 41,598 42,079 41,487
 
         
Meritage Homes Corporation and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(In thousands)
(unaudited)
 
June 30, 2015 December 31, 2014
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents $ 217,021 $ 103,333
Other receivables 64,659 56,763
Real estate (1) 2,027,064 1,877,682
Real estate not owned 4,999
Deposits on real estate under option or contract 92,085 94,989
Investments in unconsolidated entities 10,303 10,780
Property and equipment, net 33,741 32,403
Deferred tax asset 65,651 64,137
Prepaids, other assets and goodwill   76,145   71,052
Total assets $ 2,586,669 $ 2,316,138
Liabilities:
Accounts payable $ 103,145 $ 83,619
Accrued liabilities 137,602 154,144
Home sale deposits 38,728 29,379
Liabilities related to real estate not owned 4,299
Loans payable and other borrowings 34,654 30,722
Senior and convertible senior notes   1,104,202   904,486
Total liabilities   1,418,331   1,206,649
Stockholders' Equity:
Preferred stock
Common stock 397 391
Additional paid-in capital 552,098 538,788
Retained earnings   615,843   570,310
Total stockholders’ equity   1,168,338   1,109,489
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity $ 2,586,669 $ 2,316,138
(1) Real estate – Allocated costs:
Homes under contract under construction $ 506,004 $ 328,931
Unsold homes, completed and under construction 251,067 302,288
Model homes 120,981 109,614
Finished home sites and home sites under development   1,149,012   1,136,849
Total real estate $ 2,027,064 $ 1,877,682
 
         

Supplemental Information and Non-GAAP Financial Disclosures (Dollars in thousands – unaudited):

 
Three Months Ended June 30, Six Months Ended June 30,
2015     2014 2015     2014
Depreciation and amortization $ 3,517   $ 2,669   $

6,729

  $ 5,182  
 
Summary of Capitalized Interest:
Capitalized interest, beginning of period $ 56,843 $ 38,701 $ 54,060 $ 32,992
Interest incurred 16,526 14,382 31,808 28,638
Interest expensed (4,621 ) (1,396 ) (7,775 ) (4,109 )
Interest amortized to cost of home and land closings   (9,878 )   (7,332 )   (19,223 )   (13,166 )
Capitalized interest, end of period $ 58,870   $ 44,355   $ 58,870   $ 44,355  
 
June 30, 2015 December 31, 2014
Notes payable and other borrowings $ 1,138,856 $ 935,208
Stockholders' equity   1,168,338     1,109,489  
Total capital 2,307,194 2,044,697
Debt-to-capital 49.4 % 45.7 %
 
Notes payable and other borrowings $ 1,138,856 $ 935,208
Less: cash and cash equivalents   (217,021 )   (103,333 )
Net debt 921,835 831,875
Stockholders’ equity   1,168,338     1,109,489  
Total net capital $ 2,090,173 $ 1,941,364
Net debt-to-capital 44.1 % 42.9 %
 
     
Meritage Homes Corporation and Subsidiaries
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(In thousands) (unaudited)
 
Six Months Ended June 30,
2015     2014
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net earnings $ 45,533 $ 60,456
Adjustments to reconcile net earnings to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization 6,729 5,182
Stock-based compensation 8,465 5,264
Excess income tax benefit from stock-based awards (2,012 ) (2,194 )
Equity in earnings from unconsolidated entities

(5,009

) (4,268 )
Distribution of earnings from unconsolidated entities 5,769 6,119
Other

424

3,955
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Increase in real estate (144,450 ) (229,805 )
Decrease/(increase) in deposits on real estate under option or contract 3,604 (7,986 )
Increase in receivables, prepaids and other assets (10,346 ) (15,121 )
Increase in accounts payable and accrued liabilities 4,996 2,247
Increase in home sale deposits   9,349     5,537  
Net cash used in operating activities   (76,948 )   (170,614 )
Cash flows from investing activities:
Investments in unconsolidated entities (282 ) (233 )
Purchases of property and equipment (7,829 ) (11,864 )
Proceeds from sales of property and equipment 62 146
Maturities of investments and securities 65,388
Payments to purchase investments and securities       (35,614 )
Net cash (used in)/provided by investing activities   (8,049 )   17,823  
Cash flows from financing activities:
Repayment of loans payable and other borrowings (3,211 ) (4,036 )
Proceeds from issuance of senior notes 200,000
Debt issuance costs (2,955 )
Proceeds from issuance of common stock, net 110,420
Excess income tax benefit from stock-based awards 2,012 2,194
Proceeds from stock option exercises   2,839     707  
Net cash provided by financing activities   198,685     109,285  
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents 113,688 (43,506 )
Beginning cash and cash equivalents   103,333     274,136  
Ending cash and cash equivalents (2) $ 217,021   $ 230,630  

(2) Ending cash and cash equivalents excludes investments and securities of $59.9 million as of June 30, 2014.

                 
Meritage Homes Corporation and Subsidiaries
Operating Data
(Dollars in thousands) (unaudited)
 
Three Months Ended
June 30, 2015 June 30, 2014
Homes Value Homes Value
Homes Closed:
Arizona 229 $ 71,878 252 $ 84,606
California 176 95,763 185 95,067
Colorado 113   52,133 115   52,292
West Region 518   219,774 552   231,965
Texas 509   174,397 524   159,562
Central Region 509   174,397 524   159,562
Florida 210 91,491 155 60,732
Georgia 42 13,057
North Carolina 135 50,214 89 36,127
South Carolina 91 27,258
Tennessee 51     14,836   48     14,414
East Region 529   196,856 292   111,273
Total 1,556 $ 591,027 1,368 $ 502,800
Homes Ordered:
Arizona 320 $ 102,714 239 $ 77,372
California 237 131,814 205 107,608
Colorado 181   84,421 140   64,491
West Region 738   318,949 584   249,471
Texas 635   224,195 718   240,463
Central Region 635   224,195 718   240,463
Florida 218 92,663 180 67,891
Georgia 53 16,690
North Carolina 181 72,667 102 43,062
South Carolina 99 29,473
Tennessee 62     21,178   63     17,548
East Region 613   232,671 345   128,501
Total 1,986 $ 775,815 1,647 $ 618,435
 
                 
Meritage Homes Corporation and Subsidiaries
Operating Data
(Dollars in thousands) (unaudited)
 
Six Months Ended
June 30, 2015 June 30, 2014
Homes Value Homes Value
Homes Closed:
Arizona 415 $ 134,479 463 $ 156,388
California 329 182,186 350 174,994
Colorado 241   109,987 204   92,214
West Region 985   426,652 1,017   423,596
Texas 949   326,984 927   277,761
Central Region 949   326,984 927   277,761
Florida 387 164,322 318 127,829
Georgia 94 28,515

North Carolina 224 85,189 144 58,706
South Carolina 167 51,818
Tennessee 85   24,820 71   20,687
East Region 957   354,664 533   207,222
Total 2,891 $ 1,108,300 2,477 $ 908,579
Homes Ordered:
Arizona 608 $ 193,305 467 $ 153,019
California 547 309,911 442 227,660
Colorado 370   169,828 264   119,249
West Region 1,525   673,044 1,173   499,928
Texas 1,192   409,327 1,352   432,694
Central Region 1,192   409,327 1,352   432,694
Florida 466 201,520 353 132,506
Georgia 130 40,908

North Carolina 329 134,292 183 77,081
South Carolina 195 59,001

Tennessee 128   40,535 111   31,266
East Region 1,248   476,256 647   240,853
Total 3,965 $ 1,558,627 3,172 $ 1,173,475
 
Order Backlog:
Arizona 385 $ 125,044 282 $ 93,870
California 430 251,688 317 160,129
Colorado 397   181,474 262   119,419
West Region 1,212   558,206 861   373,418
Texas 1,101   391,384 1,217   400,588
Central Region 1,101   391,384 1,217   400,588
Florida 316 139,768 243 93,949
Georgia 89 28,977
North Carolina 290 117,271 147 61,593
South Carolina 98 33,303
Tennessee 82   27,870 80   22,020
East Region 875   347,189 470   177,562
Total 3,188 $ 1,296,779 2,548 $ 951,568
                 
Meritage Homes Corporation and Subsidiaries
Operating Data
(unaudited)
 
Three Months Ended
June 30, 2015 June 30, 2014
Ending Average Ending Average
Active Communities:
Arizona 43 43.5 42 41.5
California 20 20.5 15 16.0
Colorado 16 16.0 13 13.0
West Region 79 80.0 70 70.5
Texas 66 63.5 69 73.0
Central Region 66 63.5 69 73.0
Florida 30 28.0 18 17.5
Georgia 16 14.5 N/A N/A
North Carolina 25 24.0 13 15.5
South Carolina 20 20.0 N/A N/A
Tennessee 4 4.5 5 5.5
East Region 95 91.0 36 38.5
Total 240 234.5 175 182.0
 
                 
Six Months Ended
June 30, 2015 June 30, 2014
Ending Average Ending Average
Active Communities:
Arizona 43 42.0 42 41.0
California 20 22.0 15 18.5
Colorado 16 16.5 13 13.5
West Region 79 80.5 70 73.0
Texas 66 62.5 69 69.5
Central Region 66 62.5 69 69.5
Florida 30 29.5 18 19.0
Georgia 16 14.5 N/A N/A
North Carolina 25 23.0 13 15.0
South Carolina 20 20.0 N/A N/A
Tennessee 4 4.5 5 5.0
East Region 95 91.5 36 39.0
Total 240 234.5 175 181.5
 

About Meritage Homes Corporation

Meritage Homes is the eighth-largest public homebuilder in the United States, based on homes closed in 2014. Meritage builds and sells single-family homes for first-time, move-up, luxury and active adult buyers across the Western, Southern and Southeastern United States. Meritage builds in markets including Sacramento, San Francisco's East Bay, the Central Valley and Orange County, California; Houston, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Austin and San Antonio, Texas; Phoenix/Scottsdale, Green Valley and Tucson, Arizona; Denver and Fort Collins, Colorado; Orlando and Tampa, Florida; Raleigh and Charlotte, North Carolina; Greenville-Spartanburg and York County, South Carolina; Nashville, Tennessee and Atlanta, Georgia.

Meritage has designed and built more than 85,000 homes in its 30-year history, and has a reputation for its distinctive style, quality construction, and positive customer experience. Meritage is the industry leader in energy-efficient homebuilding and has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR Partner of the Year for Sustained Excellence Award in 2013, 2014 and 2015, for innovation and industry leadership in energy efficient homebuilding. Meritage was the first national homebuilder to be 100 percent ENERGY STAR qualified in every home it builds, and far exceeds ENERGY STAR standards today.

For more information, visit investors.meritagehomes.com.

This press release and the accompanying comments during our analyst call contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements include management's expectations with respect to 2015 home closing gross margins, that a number of closings in Texas and Colorado may be delayed into 2016, estimates for home closing revenue and earnings per diluted share for 2015, and that the company expects to continue to grow revenue and expand earnings.

Such statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of Company management, and current market conditions, which are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. 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. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the following: the availability of finished lots and undeveloped land; interest rates and changes in the availability and pricing of residential mortgages; fluctuations in the availability and cost of labor; changes in or our failure to comply with tax laws that adversely impact our homebuyers; the ability of our potential buyers to sell their existing homes; cancellation rates and home prices in our markets; weakness in the homebuilding market resulting from an unexpected setback in the current economic recovery due to lower oil prices or other factors; inflation in the cost of materials used to develop communities and construct homes; the adverse effect of slower order absorption rates; potential write-downs or write-offs of assets; a change to the feasibility of projects under option or contract that could result in the write-down or write-off of option deposits; our ability to successfully integrate acquired companies and achieve anticipated benefits from these acquisitions; our potential exposure to natural disasters; competition; construction defect and home warranty claims; adverse legal rulings; our success in prevailing on contested tax positions; our ability to obtain performance bonds in connection with our development work; the loss of key personnel; changes in, or our failure to comply with, laws and regulations; limitations of our geographic diversification; fluctuations in quarterly operating results; our financial leverage and level of indebtedness and our ability to take certain actions because of restrictions contained in the indentures for our senior notes and our ability to raise additional capital when and if needed; our credit ratings; successful integration of future acquisitions; our compliance with government regulations and the effect of legislative or other initiatives that seek to restrain growth of 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, 2014 and subsequent quarterly reports on Forms 10-Q under the caption "Risk Factors," which can be found on our website.

Meritage Homes Corporation
Brent Anderson, 972-580-6360
VP Investor Relations
Brent.Anderson@meritagehomes.com

Source: Meritage Homes Corporation