COLUMBUS, Ohio, July 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- M/I Homes, Inc. (NYSE: MHO) announced results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2008.

The Company reported a net loss in the quarter of $94.1 million, or $6.72 per share. This net loss is composed of: (i) a $58.0 million ($4.14 per share) after-tax, non-cash valuation allowance against deferred tax assets, (ii) pre-tax charges totaling $39.9 million ($1.77 per share) for land-related charges of $28.4 million and joint venture investment write-offs of $11.5 million; and (iii) a pre-tax loss from operations of $13.5 million. In 2007's second quarter, the Company reported a net loss of $42.6 million, or $3.05 per share.

The Company reported a net loss of $116.3 million for the first half of 2008, or $8.30 per share, compared to a net loss of $40.4 million, or loss per share of $2.89, in the same period a year ago. During the first half of 2008, the Company recorded $62.2 million of pre-tax impairments charges and the $58.0 million deferred tax valuation allowance. This compares to pre-tax charges in the first half of 2007 of $74.3 million. As a result of the 2008 year-to-date net loss, the Company will discontinue paying cash dividends on its common and preferred shares.

The Company delivered 478 homes in the second quarter compared to 755 in same period of 2007, a decrease of 37%. Homes delivered for the six months ended June 30, 2008 decreased 35% to 952 from 1,459 in 2007. New contracts for 2008's second quarter were 530, down 23% from 2007's second quarter of 688. For the first six months, 2008's new contracts declined 34% to 1,084 from 1,630 in 2007. The Company had 138 active communities at June 30, 2008 compared to 161 at June 30, 2007. The sales value of backlog of homes at June 30, 2008 was $254 million with backlog units of 880 and an average sales price of $289,000. The backlog of homes at June 30, 2007 had a sales value of $554 million, with backlog units of 1,694 and an average sales price of $327,000.

Robert H. Schottenstein, Chief Executive Officer and President, commented, 'Market conditions remain difficult for the homebuilding industry. Demand is weak, consumer confidence is low and margins remain under pressure. We continue to make meaningful progress on reducing our debt, inventory and expense levels. During the second quarter, our homebuilding borrowings were further reduced to $10 million, and we lowered our owned lots by over 1,000. At quarter's end, our stockholders' equity stands at $466 million, with our debt to capital ratio at 31%.'

Mr. Schottenstein continued, 'We anticipate that challenging conditions will continue for the balance of 2008 and, in all likelihood, through much of 2009. Recent federal legislation in support of housing is clearly a positive, although it is by no means a silver bullet. We will continue to work toward strengthening our balance sheet and position M/I for future opportunities that we expect to occur once housing conditions begin to improve.'

The Company will broadcast its earnings conference call today at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. To hear the call, log on to the M/I Homes' website at mihomes.com, click on the 'Investors' section of the site, and select 'Listen to the Conference Call.' The call, along with any applicable reconciliation of non-GAAP financial measures, will continue to be available on our website through July 2009.

M/I Homes, Inc. is one of the nation's leading builders of single-family homes, having delivered over 72,000 homes. The Company's homes are marketed and sold under the trade names M/I Homes and Showcase Homes. The Company has homebuilding operations in Columbus and Cincinnati, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; Indianapolis, Indiana; Tampa and Orlando, Florida; Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina; and the Virginia and Maryland suburbs of Washington, D.C.

Certain statements in this Press Release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as 'expects,' 'anticipates,' 'targets,' 'goals,' 'projects,' 'intends,' 'plans,' 'believes,' 'seeks,' 'estimates,' variations of such words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements.