Oct. 29, 2009 (PR Newswire) -- COLUMBUS, Ohio, Oct. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- M/I Homes, Inc. (NYSE: MHO) announced results for the third quarter and nine months ended September 30, 2009. Third quarter results were highlighted by:
-- 36% increase in new contracts;
-- 20% increase in deliveries;
-- 36% increase in units in backlog;
-- reduced operating loss to $1.2 million;
-- EBITDA of $1.2 million;
-- net debt to capital ratio of 23%;
-- cash balance of $102.8 million;
-- zero bank borrowings and no debt maturing until 2012.
For the 2009 third quarter, the Company reported a net loss of $21.1 million, or $1.14 per share, compared to a net loss of $58.7 million, or $4.18 per share, during the third quarter of 2008. The current quarter loss consists primarily of a $1.2 million pre-tax operating loss, $15.0 million of asset impairments, and a $4.4 million charge related to imported drywall.
The Company reported a net loss of $69.1 million for the nine-month period ended September 30, 2009, or $4.29 per share, compared to a net loss of $175.0 million, or $12.48 per share, for the same period a year ago.
New contracts for 2009's third quarter were 619, up 36% from 2008's third quarter of 456. For the nine months ended September 30, 2009, new contracts increased 33%, to 2,045 from 1,540 in 2008. The Company delivered 665 homes in the third quarter compared to 555 in same period of 2008, an increase of 20%. Homes delivered for the nine months ended September 30, 2009 increased 5% to 1,551 from 1,471 in 2008. The Company had 105 active communities at September 30, 2009 compared to 138 at September 30, 2008. The sales value of backlog of homes at September 30, 2009 was $263 million, with backlog units increasing to 1,060 and an average sales price of $248,000. The backlog of homes at September 30, 2008 had a sales value of $212 million, with backlog units of 781 and an average sales price of $272,000.
Robert H. Schottenstein, Chief Executive Officer and President commented, "We continue to make progress during these difficult times. Our predominantly defensive operating strategy and cost reduction efforts have served us well as we have significantly reduced our operating loss over the past 12 months. Our gross margins have increased during each of the past four quarters and expenses declined 19% from a year ago. The combination of these factors resulted in $1.2 million of positive EBITDA for the quarter and an operating loss approaching break even."
Mr. Schottenstein continued, "In addition, we continue to be pleased with our strong sales performance. Our third quarter sales represent our fourth consecutive quarter of increased new contracts and our third consecutive quarter of increased backlog. The adjustments we have made to our product offering, including our new 'eco Series' and the strengthening of our line of affordable homes have contributed to our sales increase. Looking ahead, economic conditions are likely to remain challenging and unpredictable. Accordingly, we will continue managing defensively. At the end of the third quarter, we had $103 million of cash and our net debt to capital ratio stood at 23%. Our shareholders' equity is $319 million and we have no significant debt maturing until 2012."
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 will continue to be available on our website through October 2010.
M/I Homes, Inc. is one of the nation's leading builders of single-family homes, having delivered nearly 75,000 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. These statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Any forward-looking statements that we make herein and in future reports and statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results may differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements as a result of various factors relating to the global, U.S., local and homebuilding economic environments, interest rates, risks associated with owning and developing land, availability of resources, competition, market concentration, lack of geographic diversification, availability of financing resources, terms of our indebtedness and our ability to incur additional indebtedness, outcome of legal claims brought against us, ownership changes that could limit our ability to utilize our net operating loss carryforwards, and various governmental rules and regulations, among other matters-as, more fully discussed in the Risk Factors section in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2008, and as updated in the Company's periodic filings on Form 10-Q. All forward-looking statements made in this Press Release are made as of the date hereof, and the risk that actual results will differ materially from expectations expressed in this Press Release will increase with the passage of time. The Company undertakes no duty to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. However, any further disclosures made on related subjects in our subsequent filings, releases or presentations should be consulted.
M/I Homes, Inc.
