Housing dive chops Beazer’s revenue

By By Michelle E. Shaw

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Beazer Homes USA lost nearly half of its revenue in the third quarter, due to a drop in average home prices and closings.

Total revenue for the Atlanta-based homebuilder declined 51 percent, to $224.7 million from $455.6 million, when compared to the third quarter of last year.

Beazer posted a loss of $28 million, or 72 cents per share, in the three months ended June 30.

But that was smaller than the year-earlier loss of $109.8 million, or $2.85 per share. The current quarter result included a $55.2 million gain, the product of debt reduction measures, said Ian McCarthy, Beazer’s chief executive.

There were other glimmers of a silver lining in the troubled company’s quarterly report.

New home orders totaled 1,537, down 13.4 percent from a year ago, but up 36 percent from the second quarter -- a good sign for the overall homebuilding market, McCarthy said. The cancellation rate dropped to 23 percent from 36.8 percent a year earlier, and the backlog of homes was 1,867 on June 30, vs. 2,716 a year earlier.

Even so McCarthy said, the recession and still-rising unemployment make it hard to predict a housing turnaround.

Beazer completed 950 home sales, down from 1,677 a year ago.

Over the past three months, the homebuilder has agreed to pay millions of dollars to settle legal matters stemming from its now shuttered mortgage lending arm. With those troubles behind it, the company is looking forward toward a market turnaround and expects to be profitable again, McCarthy told analysts on a conference call.

“Our financial results for the third quarter continue to reflect the difficult market and economic conditions that we and our peers continue to face,” he said. “Nonetheless, we remain committed to our operational and strategic priorities to move our business forward, for the benefit of the company’s stake holders.”

Beazer shares fell 28 cents, or about 7.8 percent, to $3.31 on Thursday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.