Beazer Homes shows signs of improvement

By Misty Williams

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Atlanta-based Beazer Homes, one of the nation’s largest builders, reported Thursday that it turned a profit in its first quarter, following losses in fiscal 2011.

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Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Beazer Homes reported a profit in the first quarter after posting a loss in the last fiscal year.

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The homebuilder posted a $739,000 profit, or $0.01 per share, for the first three months of fiscal 2012, compared with a $48.8 million loss at the same time the year prior, said Allan Merrill, who has served as president and CEO since June.

“In spite of still challenging market conditions, our team managed to generate a 36 percent improvement in year-over-year new home orders while reducing overhead costs,” Merrill said.

New home orders rose to 724 in the most recent quarter, while closings hit 867 homes, a 67 percent increase from the same period in fiscal 2011, the company reported. Total revenue grew to $188.5 million, up from $109 million in the prior-year quarter.

While the results reflect a pattern of recovery, there is still a lot of work ahead, said Merrill, adding that he expects Beazer to sell and close more homes this year than fiscal 2011. “We aren’t about to just sit still and hope things pick up in our underperforming communities.”

The company’s cancellation rate on new home orders was 35.1 percent for the most recent quarter, up from 31.4 percent the year prior.

Beazer has been battered by the economy, as well as some actions by past leaders.

In October, Beazer’s former chief accounting officer, Michael T. Rand of Alpharetta, was convicted by a federal jury of crimes related to accounting fraud conspiracy, the destroying of documents and obstruction of justice, according to the FBI. In a prosecution agreement, the homebuilder agreed to pay $50 million in restitution.

Merrill said he plans to drive Beazer back to profitability despite difficult market conditions by improving sales in and expanding its number of communities, as well as continuing to hold down costs.