CalAtlantic Group, Inc. Reports 2016 Fourth Quarter Results

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 8, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- CalAtlantic Group, Inc. (NYSE: CAA) today announced results for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2016.

Larry Nicholson, President and Chief Executive Officer of CalAtlantic Group, Inc. commented, "I am pleased with our strong finish to this transformational year for CalAtlantic.  In 2016 we delivered double digit top line growth and grew our adjusted pre-tax income by over $145 million.  At the same time, we invested approximately $1.6 billion in land acquisition and development, we reduced our net debt-to-cap by 290 basis points and returned over $250 million to shareholders in the form of dividends and share buybacks.  We enter 2017 well positioned for continued long-term, profitable growth."

2016 CalAtlantic Fourth Quarter Highlights and Comparisons to 2015 Fourth Quarter

• Net new orders of 2,848, up 6%; Dollar value of net new orders up 7%
• 580 average active selling communities, flat
• 4,338 new home deliveries, up 14%
• Average selling price of $450 thousand, up 3%
• Home sale revenues of $2.0 billion, up 18%
• Gross margin from home sales of 21.8%, compared to 19.8%
  • Adjusted gross margin from home sales of 21.8% compared to 23.7%* (2015 excludes $64.2 million of purchase accounting impact related to the merger)
• SG&A rate from home sales of 9.8%, compared to 10.3%
• Operating margin from home sales of $234.0 million, or 12.0%, compared to $158.0 million, or 9.5%
• Net income of $167.0 million, or $1.25 per diluted share, vs. net income of $77.5 million, or $0.56 per diluted share (2016 fourth quarter results include the impact of $2.7 million of merger costs, compared to $44.8 million of merger costs and $64.2 million of purchase accounting adjustments for the 2015 fourth quarter)
• $436.0 million of land purchases and development costs, compared to $398.0 million
• Repurchased 3.0 million shares during the quarter at an average price of $32.10 and a total expenditure of $95.1 million

Orders.  Net new orders for the 2016 fourth quarter were up 6% from the 2015 fourth quarter, to 2,848 homes, with the dollar value of these orders up 7%.  The Company's monthly sales absorption rate was 1.64 per community for the 2016 fourth quarter, up 5% compared to the 2015 fourth quarter and down 21% from the 2016 third quarter, consistent with normal seasonal patterns.  The Company's cancellation rate for the 2016 fourth quarter was 20%, down compared to 22% for the 2015 fourth quarter and up from 16% for the 2016 third quarter.

Backlog.  The dollar value of homes in backlog increased 4% to $2.7 billion, or 5,817 homes, compared to $2.6 billion, or 5,611 homes, for the 2015 fourth quarter, and decreased 20% compared to $3.3 billion, or 7,307 homes, for the 2016 third quarter.  The increase in year-over-year backlog value was driven primarily by the 5% increase in the Company's monthly sales absorption rate.  As of December 31, 2016, the average gross margin of the 5,817 total homes in backlog was 20.4%.  For the 2,757 homes scheduled to close in the first quarter of 2017, the gross margin in backlog as of such date was 19.5%. 

Revenue.  Revenues from home sales for the 2016 fourth quarter increased 18%, to $2.0 billion, as compared to the 2015 fourth quarter, resulting from a 14% increase in new home deliveries and a 3% increase in the Company's average home price to $450 thousand.  The increase in average home price was primarily attributable to product mix and general price increases within select markets.   

Gross Margin.  The Company achieved gross margin from homes sales of 21.8% for the 2016 fourth quarter.  Our 2016 gross margin was negatively impacted by a shift in community mix, a competitive pricing environment, and an increase in direct construction costs per home. 

SG&A Expenses.  Selling, general and administrative expenses for the 2016 fourth quarter were $191.2 million, or 9.8%, as compared to $171.5 million, or 10.3%, for the 2015 fourth quarter.  This 50 basis point improvement was primarily the result of an 18% increase in home sale revenues and the operating leverage associated with the increase in revenue and the synergies gained in connection with our merger with Ryland.

Provision for Income Taxes. The provision for income taxes for the 2016 fourth quarter was $80.6 million, representing an effective tax rate of 33%. The 2016 fourth quarter effective tax rate includes the impact of the update to the Company's state apportionment factors during the quarter which reduced the effective tax rate from 37% recognized during the first three quarters of 2016 to 36% recognized for the full year. The 2016 full year effective tax rate of 36% is consistent with the Company's expectations going forward and includes the impact of the domestic manufacturing deduction and an estimate of the homes qualifying for energy efficient home tax credits.

Land.  During the 2016 fourth quarter, the Company spent $436.0 million on land purchases and development costs, compared to $398.0 million for the 2015 fourth quarter. The Company purchased $279.8 million of land, consisting of 3,518 homesites, of which 27% (based on homesites) is located in the North region, 25% in the Southeast region, 21% in the Southwest region, and 27% in the West region.  As of December 31, 2016, the Company owned or controlled 65,424 homesites, of which 45,699 were owned and actively selling or under development, 14,689 were controlled or under option, and the remaining 5,036 homesites were held for future development or for sale.

Liquidity.  The Company ended the quarter with $829.0 million of available liquidity, including $191.1 million of unrestricted homebuilding cash and $637.9 million available to borrow under its $750 million revolving credit facility. The Company's homebuilding debt to book capitalization as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 was 44.8% and 47.5%, respectively, and adjusted net homebuilding debt to adjusted book capitalization was 43.2%* and 46.1%*, respectively.  In addition, the Company's homebuilding debt to adjusted homebuilding EBITDA for the LTM period ending December 31, 2016 and 2015 was 3.4x* and 5.4x*, respectively.

Share Repurchases.  During the fourth quarter, the Company repurchased 3.0 million shares of its common stock for $95.1 million or an average price of $32.10 per share.  For the twelve months ended December 31, 2016 the Company repurchased 7.3 million shares at an average price of $32.04 and a total spend of $232.5 million.

Earnings Conference Call

A conference call to discuss the Company's 2016 fourth quarter results will be held at 11:00 a.m. Eastern time February 9, 2017.  The call will be broadcast live over the internet and can be accessed through the Company's website at http://investors.calatlantichomes.com.  The call will also be accessible via telephone by dialing (800) 227-9428 (domestic) or (785) 830-1925 (international); Passcode: 3897396.  The audio transmission with the slide presentation will be available on our website for replay within 2 to 3 hours following the live broadcast, and can be accessed by dialing (888) 203-1112 (domestic) or (719) 457-0820 (international); Passcode: 3897396.  

About CalAtlantic Group, Inc.

CalAtlantic Group, Inc. (NYSE: CAA), one of the nation's largest and most respected homebuilders, offers well-crafted homes in thoughtfully designed communities that meet the desires of customers across the homebuilding spectrum, from entry level to luxury, in 41 Metropolitan Statistical Areas spanning 17 states.  With a trusted reputation for quality craftsmanship, an outstanding customer experience and exceptional architectural design earned over its 50 year history, CalAtlantic Group, Inc. utilizes its over five decades of land acquisition, development and homebuilding expertise to acquire and build desirable communities in locations that meet the high expectations of the company's homebuyers.  We invite you to learn more about us by visiting www.calatlantichomes.com.

This news release and the referenced earnings conference call contain forward-looking statements.  These statements include but are not limited to new home orders; deliveries; backlog; absorption rates; cancellation rates; average home price; revenue; profitability; cash flow; liquidity; gross margin; operating margin; product mix; land supply; our liquidity; our ability to execute our business; and the amount and timing of share repurchases.  Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations or beliefs regarding future events or circumstances, and you should not place undue reliance on these statements.  Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors many of which are out of the Company's control and difficult to forecast that may cause actual results to differ materially from those that may be described or implied.  Such factors include but are not limited to:  local and general economic and market conditions, including consumer confidence, employment rates, interest rates, the cost and availability of mortgage financing, and stock market, home and land valuations; the impact on economic conditions, terrorist attacks or the outbreak or escalation of armed conflict involving the United States; the cost and availability of suitable undeveloped land, building materials and labor; the cost and availability of construction financing and corporate debt and equity capital; our significant amount of debt and the impact of restrictive covenants in our debt agreements; our ability to repay our debt as it comes due; changes in our credit rating or outlook; the demand for and affordability of single-family homes; the supply of housing for sale; cancellations of purchase contracts by homebuyers; the cyclical and competitive nature of the Company's business; governmental regulation, including the impact of "slow growth" or similar initiatives; delays in the land entitlement process, development, construction, or the opening of new home communities; adverse weather conditions and natural disasters; environmental matters; risks relating to the Company's financial services operations; future business decisions and the Company's ability to successfully implement the Company's operational and other strategies; litigation and warranty claims; and other risks discussed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015 and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q.  The Company assumes no, and hereby disclaims any, obligation to update any of the foregoing or any other forward-looking statements.  The Company nonetheless reserves the right to make such updates from time to time by press release, periodic report or other method of public disclosure without the need for specific reference to this press release.  No such update shall be deemed to indicate that other statements not addressed by such update remain correct or create an obligation to provide any other updates.

Contact: Jeff McCall, EVP & CFO (240) 532-3888, [email protected]

*Please see "Reconciliation of Non-GAAP Financial Measures" at the end of this release.

(Note: Tables Follow)

 

 

 PRO FORMA KEY STATISTICS AND FINANCIAL DATA1

On October 1, 2015, Standard Pacific Corp. completed its merger transaction with The Ryland Group, Inc., with Standard Pacific continuing as the surviving corporation and changing its name to CalAtlantic Group, Inc.  To aid analysts and other investors with year-over-year comparability for the entire merged business, we are providing the following limited pro forma information, which combines the stand-alone Standard Pacific and Ryland financial and operating data for the first nine months of the year ended December 31, 2015.  Such pro forma data was not prepared to comply with Regulation S-X of the SEC Rules and Regulations.  The pro forma results are not necessarily indicative of how the Company would have performed if Ryland and Standard Pacific were combined for the first nine months of 2015 and are not necessarily indicative of the combined Company's future performance. Limited historical Ryland operating data is also presented in the tables at the end of this release for informational purposes.

 

 

 

 

REGIONAL OPERATING DATA

In connection with the merger with Ryland, the Company began evaluating the business and allocating resources based on each of the four post-merger homebuilding regions of CalAtlantic. The Company's four homebuilding reportable segments include: North (Baltimore, Chicago, Delaware, Indianapolis, Metro Washington, D.C., Minneapolis/St. Paul, New Jersey, Northern Virginia, Philadelphia and Atlanta); Southeast (Florida and the Carolinas); Southwest (Texas, Colorado and Nevada) and West (California and Arizona). 

 

 

PRO FORMA REGIONAL OPERATING DATA

On October 1, 2015, Standard Pacific Corp. completed its merger transaction with The Ryland Group, Inc., with Standard Pacific continuing as the surviving corporation and changing its name to CalAtlantic Group, Inc.  To aid analysts and other investors with year-over-year comparability for the entire merged business, we are providing the following limited pro forma information, which combines the stand-alone Standard Pacific and Ryland financial and operating data for the first nine months of the year ended December 31, 2015.  Such pro forma data was not prepared to comply with Regulation S-X of the SEC Rules and Regulations.  The pro forma results are not necessarily indicative of how the Company would have performed if Ryland and Standard Pacific were combined for the first nine months of 2015 and are not necessarily indicative of the combined Company's future performance. Limited historical Ryland operating data is also presented in the tables at the end of this release for informational purposes. 

 

RECONCILIATION OF NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES

Each of the below measures are non-GAAP financial measures and other companies may calculate such non-GAAP measures differently.  Due to the significance of the GAAP components excluded, such measures should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to operating performance measures prescribed by GAAP.

The table set forth below reconciles the Company's gross margin percentage from home sales to adjusted gross margin percentage from home sales, excluding extraordinary purchase accounting adjustments related to the merger and interest amortized to cost of home sales.  The table set forth below also calculates adjusted operating margin percentage from home sales, excluding extraordinary purchase accounting adjustments related to the merger.  We believe these measures are useful to management and investors as they provide perspective on the underlying operating performance of the business excluding these charges and provide comparability with the Company's peer group.

 

The table set forth below reconciles the Company's pretax income to adjusted pretax income, excluding extraordinary purchase accounting adjustments and merger and other one-time transaction related costs.  We believe these measures are useful to management and investors as they provide perspective on the underlying operating performance of the business excluding these charges and provide comparability with the Company's peer group. 

 

Because the closing of the merger occurred after the 2015 third quarter, financial statement information for 2015 includes full year stand-alone data for predecessor Standard Pacific Corp. and three months of Ryland Group, Inc. data (from October 1, 2015 through December 31, 2015).  The table set forth below reconciles the Company's reported home sale revenues and pretax income to comparative financial measures on a combined basis for periods prior to the merger excluding merger and other one-time transaction related costs.  Certain adjustments, including those related to conforming accounting policies and adjusting acquired inventory to fair value, have not been reflected in the pro forma financial measures below due to the impracticability of estimating such impacts.  Such pro forma data was not prepared to comply with Regulation S-X of the SEC Rules and Regulations.  The following non-GAAP financial measures have been provided as we believe this data is useful to investors for purposes of assessing the Company's operating performance on a combined basis for year-over-year comparison purposes.

 

The table set forth below reconciles the Company's total consolidated debt to adjusted net homebuilding debt and provides the Company's total consolidated debt to book capitalization and adjusted net homebuilding debt to total adjusted book capitalization ratios.  In addition, the table set forth below calculates homebuilding debt to adjusted homebuilding EBITDA.  We believe these ratios are useful to management and investors as a measure of the Company's ability to obtain financing.  For purposes of the ratio of adjusted net homebuilding debt to total adjusted book capitalization, total adjusted book capitalization is adjusted net homebuilding debt plus stockholders' equity.  Adjusted net homebuilding debt excludes indebtedness of the Company's financial services subsidiary and additionally reflects the offset of cash and equivalents.

 

The table set forth below calculates EBITDA and Adjusted Homebuilding EBITDA.  Adjusted Homebuilding EBITDA means net income (plus cash distributions of income from unconsolidated joint ventures) before (a) income taxes, (b) homebuilding interest expense, (c) expensing of previously capitalized interest included in cost of sales, (d) impairment charges and deposit write-offs, (e) (gain) loss on early extinguishment of debt, (f) homebuilding depreciation and amortization, including amortization of capitalized model costs, (g) amortization of stock-based compensation, (h) income (loss) from unconsolidated joint ventures, (i) income (loss) from financial services subsidiaries, (j) extraordinary purchase accounting adjustments and (k) merger and other one-time transaction related costs.  Other companies may calculate Adjusted Homebuilding EBITDA (or similarly titled measures) differently.  We believe Adjusted Homebuilding EBITDA information is useful to management and investors as it provides perspective on the underlying performance of the business.  Adjusted Homebuilding EBITDA is a non-GAAP financial measure and due to the significance of the GAAP components excluded, should not be considered in isolation or as an alternative to net income, cash flow from operations or any other operating or liquidity performance measure prescribed by GAAP.

 

 

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SOURCE CalAtlantic Group, Inc.