COLUMBUS, Ohio, Feb. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- M/I Homes, Inc. (NYSE: MHO) announced results for its fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2008.

For the 2008 fourth quarter, the Company reported a net loss of $75.4 million, or $5.38 per share. This loss includes $52.9 million of inventory pre-tax charges and a $29.0 million after-tax expense for the FAS 109 increase in the Company's deferred tax asset valuation allowance. In 2007's fourth quarter, the Company reported a net loss of $70.9 million, or $5.06 per share, including $109.2 million of similar inventory pre-tax charges.

The Company reported a net loss of $250.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2008, or $17.86 per share, compared to a net loss of $135.4 million, or $9.69 per share for 2007. For the year ended December 31, 2008, the Company recorded $158.6 million of pre-tax charges for inventory impairments and abandonments and a $108.6 million after-tax non-cash valuation allowance against its deferred tax assets. This compares to pre-tax charges in the same period of 2007 of $210.9 million and a tax benefit of $58 million.

New contracts of 1,879 for the twelve months ended December 31, 2008 were 25% below 2007's 2,513. New contracts for 2008's fourth quarter were 339 compared to 322 in 2007. The Company's cancellation rate was 31% in the fourth quarter of 2008, compared to 49% in 2007's fourth quarter. Homes delivered for the twelve months ended December 31, 2008 were 2,061 compared to 2007's deliveries of 3,288. Homes delivered in 2008's fourth quarter were 554, decreasing 47% from 2007's fourth quarter 1,042. The sales value of homes in backlog at December 31, 2008 was $139 million, with backlog units of 566 and an average sales price of $247,000. The backlog of homes at December 31, 2007 had a sales value of $233 million, with backlog units of 748 and an average sales price of $312,000. M/I Homes had 128 active communities at December 31, 2008 compared to 146 at December 31, 2007.

Robert H. Schottenstein, Chief Executive Officer and President, commented, 'Clearly these are very difficult times for homebuilders. The combination of weak demand, falling home prices, historically low levels of consumer confidence, mounting foreclosures, and the increasing recessionary pressures dominating the overall economy have resulted in what many regard as the most severe housing recession in decades. After experiencing challenging conditions throughout most of 2006 and all of 2007, market conditions further deteriorated in 2008. Despite the significant headwinds we faced, we made progress in 2008 in a number of key areas. We generated $148 million of cash during 2008, reduced our homebuilding bank borrowings from $115 million at the beginning of 2008 to $0 at year end, and ended 2008 with $33 million of cash. Our homebuilding net debt to capital ratio is 32% -- one of the lowest in the homebuilding industry. We also successfully reduced our expense levels, lowered our headcount by 41% from a year ago, and reduced our owned lot count by 40% during the year. We continue to take steps designed to generate cash flow and strengthen our balance sheet.'

Mr. Schottenstein continued, 'Looking ahead into 2009, we expect market conditions to remain difficult. Accordingly, we will continue to employ a predominantly defensive operating strategy -- focusing on our balance sheet and our liquidity. We currently have $333 million of net worth, recently amended our bank credit facility, and have no debt maturing until 2012. This provides us with additional flexibility in these difficult times. At the same time, we will continue to focus on key offensive initiatives that we believe will position us for the eventual turn around in the homebuilding industry.'

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 February 2010.

M/I Homes, Inc. is one of the nation's leading builders of single-family homes, having delivered over 73,000 homes. The Company's homes are marketed and sold under the trade names M/I Homes and Showcase Homes.