Atlanta, GA, April 28--Beazer Homes USA said Thursday that it swung to a loss in the fiscal second quarter after writing down the value of some underperforming operations and settling a class-action lawsuit.
For the latest three-month period, the homebuilder posted a loss of $84.3 million, or $2.09 per share, compared with net income of $48.9 million, or $1.17 per share, in the year-ago period.
The results included an impairment charge amounting to $3.22 per share, as well as a legal settlement that reduced profit by 69 cents, the company said. Beazer had said previously it would write off substantially all the goodwill for operations in four states purchased as part of a 2002 acquisition. The shareholder suit involved claims of defective construction related to water intrusion against Trinity Homes LLC and Beazer Homes Investment Corp., Trinity's parent.
Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial were looking for earnings of $1.17 per share.
Revenue totaled $976.2 million, up 11 percent from $876.6 million a year earlier but well short of the $1.04 billion targeted by Wall Street analysts.
Beazer said its home closings were down 2.2 percent to 3,602 last quarter, while new orders jumped 4 percent to reach 5,239 units.
At March 31, its backlog grew 18.8 percent to 10,064 homes for a sales value of $2.9 billion, an 42 percent increase from the year before, Beazer added.
Looking forward, the company boosted its projection for annual earnings to a range of $7 to $7.25 per share, versus earlier guidance of $6.67 to $7 per share.
Analysts currently forecast a profit of $6.69 per share on $4.55 billion in sales. Beazer earned $5.69 per share on sales of $3.91 billion in 2004.
