Beazer Homes USA (NYSE: BZH) is a Fortune 500 American homebuilding company based in Atlanta, Georgia. The company builds and sells primarily single-family homes in twenty states of the continental United States. It also offers home mortgage services through its subsidiary, Beazer Mortgage Corporation. In 2006 and 2007 Beazer Homes USA won awards across the country in various Parade of Homes events.
Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (Beazer) is a diversified homebuilder. The Company designs, sells and builds single-family and multi-family homes. The Company acts as the general contractor for the construction of its home communities. Beazer’s project development operations are controlled by its operating divisions. At September 30, 2010, excluding models, the Company had 1,393 homes at various stages of completion, of which 588 were under contract and included in backlog, and 805 homes (423 were completed and 382 under construction) were not under a sales contract. Up until September 30, 2010, the Company offered title insurance services to its homebuyers in several of its markets. As of September 30, 2010, we have substantially exited our homebuilding operations in Jacksonville, Florida and Albuquerque, New Mexico. As of September 30, 2010, the Company sold or discontinued all of its title services operations, which were included in its Financial Services segment.
The Company makes use of online and traditional advertising vehicles and other promotional activities, including its Internet Website , real estate listing sites, search engine marketing, mass-media advertisements, brochures, direct marketing, directional billboards and the placement of located signboards in the immediate areas of its developments. At September 30, 2010, the Company maintained 248 model homes, of which 240 were owned and eight were leased from third parties pursuant to sale and leaseback agreements. The Company sells its homes through commissioned new home sales counsellors, as well as through independent brokers. Through January 31, 2008, Beazer Mortgage Corporation (Beazer Mortgage) financed certain of its mortgage lending activities with borrowings under its warehouse line of credit or from general corporate funds prior to selling the loans and their servicing rights shortly after origination to third-party investors. Beazer Mortgage provided qualified homebuyers a range of financing options, including conventional, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans’ Administration (VA) financing programs.
Nineteen ninety-six was the best year for homebuilders since 1978, with construction of single-family homes up 15 percent from 1995. In May, Beazer purchased Gulfcoast Homes, Inc., a Florida company building homes in Fort Myers and Naples. In June it bought Trendmaker Homes of Dallas. Markets in which Beazer Homes had developments, including Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Houston, were among the busiest, as measured by the number of building permits issued for single-family homes, and the California market began to improve. Revenues for the company's third quarter, which ended June 30, 1996, increased more than 43 percent above the same period in 1995. New orders were up 30 percent for the nine months ending in June.
In looking at the homebuilding industry in the long run, demographics play a bigger role than economics. In a February 7, 1996 news release, U.S. Housing Markets, a housing research journal, predicted that an average of 1.25 million new households would be formed annually between 1996 and 2000. Between 1990 and 1995, when about 1.13 million new households were formed each year, it was the 45-to-54 age group--those at the beginning of the Baby Boom generation--who had the greatest household growth. In the second half of the 1990s, the majority of households were expected be formed by 25-to-34-year-olds, Beazer Homes USA's primary target group. While demographic factors appeared to favor Beazer, economic factors could influence whether the households live in rental units, multifamily condominiums, or single family homes. Based on the company's 1996 activities, however, many of those households will be living in homes built by Beazer.
Principal Subsidiaries:Beazer Homes Arizona; Beazer Homes California; Beazer Homes Florida; Beazer Homes Georgia; Beazer Homes Nevada; Beazer Homes Texas; Phillips Builders; Squires Homes.
During 1992, Beazer Homes entered new markets. Squires Homes expanded from Charlotte to nearby Raleigh, anticipating strong employment growth related to the state government and educational institutions located at the Research Triangle Park. In October, the company bought a condominium development in Clifton, New Jersey. Revenue that year was $127.7 million with closings on 1,182 houses. The average price of a Beazer home was $108,000.
By 1993, single family starts in the United States were nearly 53 percent higher than in 1991. In February, Beazer expanded its operations to the West Coast market with the purchase of Watt Housing Corporation for $116 million. The purchase was financed by borrowing the whole amount from a subsidiary of Hanson PLC.
Watt built homes in developments in California, Arizona, and Nevada under the names Watt Homes, Watt Hancock, and Watt Nevada. To handle its West Coast homebuilding activities, Beazer America established Beazer Homes Holding (BHH), a wholly owned subsidiary. In October, Beazer Homes, Inc., the East Coast homebuilding subsidiary, bought Panitz & Company, a Florida homebuilder, for $3.2 million. Ian McCarthy served as president of both subsidiaries.
In November 1993, the two subsidiaries were combined and incorporated as Beazer Homes USA, in anticipation of going public. Ian McCarthy was named president and CEO, and Brian Beazer became the non-executive chairman of the board. In part because of the acquisitions and expansions, total sales for 1993 increased to $340 million, with 3,163 housing starts and over 2,000 closings. That level of activity earned the company a place on the Professional Builder magazine's annual list of major housing builders, where it ranked 17.
In February 1994, Beazer Homes USA went public. A third of the proceeds of the initial public offering went to pay back Beazer America for financing the Watt purchase. Squires Homes continued to grow in the Carolinas, expanding from Charleston, South Carolina, to Columbia, and, in 1995, to Myrtle Beach.
Beazer Homes maintained a conservative financial structure as sales fluctuated in 1995. The company repurchased its outstanding shares previously held by Hanson Industries for $16 a share and issued $50 million of convertible, preferred stock. In April, Beazer Homes moved into Texas, buying Bramalea Homes Texas from a bankrupt Canadian company. Bramalea had projects in the Dallas and Houston markets, two of the top growing cities in the country. The company also closed out the New Jersey development. Although profits for the fiscal year were down due to higher interest rates at the beginning of the year and a weak economy in California, Beazer Homes moved to 13th on Professional Builder's 29th Annual Report of Housing's Giants. Total revenue for the year was $648 million.
OVERALL
Beta: 4.39
Market Cap (Mil.): $355.90
Shares Outstanding (Mil.): 76.37
Annual Dividend: --
Yield (%): --
FINANCIALS
BZH.N Industry Sector
P/E (TTM): -- 28.32 8.93
EPS (TTM): -9.45 -- --
ROI: -6.59 1.84 0.90
ROE: -41.18 2.31 1.56
Statistics:
Public Company
Founded: 1994
Employees: 1,000
Revenue: $647.8 million (1995)
Stock Exchanges: NYSE
SICs: 1521 Single-Family Housing Construction; 6719 Holding Companies, Not Elsewhere Classified
Name Age Since Current Position
Beazer, Brian 76 1994 Non-Executive Chairman of the Board
McCarthy, Ian 57 President, Chief Executive Officer, Director
Merrill, Allan 44 2007 Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President
Khoury, Kenneth 59 2009 Executive Vice President, General Counsel
Salomon, Robert 50 2008 Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer, Controller
Solari, Larry 68 2009 Lead Independent Director
Alpert, Laurent 64 2002 Independent Director
Zelnak, Stephen 66 2003 Independent Director
Leemputte, Peter 53 2005 Independent Director
Provencio, Norma 53 2009 Independent Director
Address:
5775 Peachtree Dunwoody Road, Suite C-550
Atlanta, Georgia 30342
U.S.A.
Beazer Homes USA, Inc. (Beazer) is a diversified homebuilder. The Company designs, sells and builds single-family and multi-family homes. The Company acts as the general contractor for the construction of its home communities. Beazer’s project development operations are controlled by its operating divisions. At September 30, 2010, excluding models, the Company had 1,393 homes at various stages of completion, of which 588 were under contract and included in backlog, and 805 homes (423 were completed and 382 under construction) were not under a sales contract. Up until September 30, 2010, the Company offered title insurance services to its homebuyers in several of its markets. As of September 30, 2010, we have substantially exited our homebuilding operations in Jacksonville, Florida and Albuquerque, New Mexico. As of September 30, 2010, the Company sold or discontinued all of its title services operations, which were included in its Financial Services segment.
The Company makes use of online and traditional advertising vehicles and other promotional activities, including its Internet Website , real estate listing sites, search engine marketing, mass-media advertisements, brochures, direct marketing, directional billboards and the placement of located signboards in the immediate areas of its developments. At September 30, 2010, the Company maintained 248 model homes, of which 240 were owned and eight were leased from third parties pursuant to sale and leaseback agreements. The Company sells its homes through commissioned new home sales counsellors, as well as through independent brokers. Through January 31, 2008, Beazer Mortgage Corporation (Beazer Mortgage) financed certain of its mortgage lending activities with borrowings under its warehouse line of credit or from general corporate funds prior to selling the loans and their servicing rights shortly after origination to third-party investors. Beazer Mortgage provided qualified homebuyers a range of financing options, including conventional, Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veterans’ Administration (VA) financing programs.
Nineteen ninety-six was the best year for homebuilders since 1978, with construction of single-family homes up 15 percent from 1995. In May, Beazer purchased Gulfcoast Homes, Inc., a Florida company building homes in Fort Myers and Naples. In June it bought Trendmaker Homes of Dallas. Markets in which Beazer Homes had developments, including Atlanta, Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth, and Houston, were among the busiest, as measured by the number of building permits issued for single-family homes, and the California market began to improve. Revenues for the company's third quarter, which ended June 30, 1996, increased more than 43 percent above the same period in 1995. New orders were up 30 percent for the nine months ending in June.
In looking at the homebuilding industry in the long run, demographics play a bigger role than economics. In a February 7, 1996 news release, U.S. Housing Markets, a housing research journal, predicted that an average of 1.25 million new households would be formed annually between 1996 and 2000. Between 1990 and 1995, when about 1.13 million new households were formed each year, it was the 45-to-54 age group--those at the beginning of the Baby Boom generation--who had the greatest household growth. In the second half of the 1990s, the majority of households were expected be formed by 25-to-34-year-olds, Beazer Homes USA's primary target group. While demographic factors appeared to favor Beazer, economic factors could influence whether the households live in rental units, multifamily condominiums, or single family homes. Based on the company's 1996 activities, however, many of those households will be living in homes built by Beazer.
Principal Subsidiaries:Beazer Homes Arizona; Beazer Homes California; Beazer Homes Florida; Beazer Homes Georgia; Beazer Homes Nevada; Beazer Homes Texas; Phillips Builders; Squires Homes.
During 1992, Beazer Homes entered new markets. Squires Homes expanded from Charlotte to nearby Raleigh, anticipating strong employment growth related to the state government and educational institutions located at the Research Triangle Park. In October, the company bought a condominium development in Clifton, New Jersey. Revenue that year was $127.7 million with closings on 1,182 houses. The average price of a Beazer home was $108,000.
By 1993, single family starts in the United States were nearly 53 percent higher than in 1991. In February, Beazer expanded its operations to the West Coast market with the purchase of Watt Housing Corporation for $116 million. The purchase was financed by borrowing the whole amount from a subsidiary of Hanson PLC.
Watt built homes in developments in California, Arizona, and Nevada under the names Watt Homes, Watt Hancock, and Watt Nevada. To handle its West Coast homebuilding activities, Beazer America established Beazer Homes Holding (BHH), a wholly owned subsidiary. In October, Beazer Homes, Inc., the East Coast homebuilding subsidiary, bought Panitz & Company, a Florida homebuilder, for $3.2 million. Ian McCarthy served as president of both subsidiaries.
In November 1993, the two subsidiaries were combined and incorporated as Beazer Homes USA, in anticipation of going public. Ian McCarthy was named president and CEO, and Brian Beazer became the non-executive chairman of the board. In part because of the acquisitions and expansions, total sales for 1993 increased to $340 million, with 3,163 housing starts and over 2,000 closings. That level of activity earned the company a place on the Professional Builder magazine's annual list of major housing builders, where it ranked 17.
In February 1994, Beazer Homes USA went public. A third of the proceeds of the initial public offering went to pay back Beazer America for financing the Watt purchase. Squires Homes continued to grow in the Carolinas, expanding from Charleston, South Carolina, to Columbia, and, in 1995, to Myrtle Beach.
Beazer Homes maintained a conservative financial structure as sales fluctuated in 1995. The company repurchased its outstanding shares previously held by Hanson Industries for $16 a share and issued $50 million of convertible, preferred stock. In April, Beazer Homes moved into Texas, buying Bramalea Homes Texas from a bankrupt Canadian company. Bramalea had projects in the Dallas and Houston markets, two of the top growing cities in the country. The company also closed out the New Jersey development. Although profits for the fiscal year were down due to higher interest rates at the beginning of the year and a weak economy in California, Beazer Homes moved to 13th on Professional Builder's 29th Annual Report of Housing's Giants. Total revenue for the year was $648 million.
OVERALL
Beta: 4.39
Market Cap (Mil.): $355.90
Shares Outstanding (Mil.): 76.37
Annual Dividend: --
Yield (%): --
FINANCIALS
BZH.N Industry Sector
P/E (TTM): -- 28.32 8.93
EPS (TTM): -9.45 -- --
ROI: -6.59 1.84 0.90
ROE: -41.18 2.31 1.56
Statistics:
Public Company
Founded: 1994
Employees: 1,000
Revenue: $647.8 million (1995)
Stock Exchanges: NYSE
SICs: 1521 Single-Family Housing Construction; 6719 Holding Companies, Not Elsewhere Classified
Name Age Since Current Position
Beazer, Brian 76 1994 Non-Executive Chairman of the Board
McCarthy, Ian 57 President, Chief Executive Officer, Director
Merrill, Allan 44 2007 Chief Financial Officer, Executive Vice President
Khoury, Kenneth 59 2009 Executive Vice President, General Counsel
Salomon, Robert 50 2008 Senior Vice President, Chief Accounting Officer, Controller
Solari, Larry 68 2009 Lead Independent Director
Alpert, Laurent 64 2002 Independent Director
Zelnak, Stephen 66 2003 Independent Director
Leemputte, Peter 53 2005 Independent Director
Provencio, Norma 53 2009 Independent Director
Address:
5775 Peachtree Dunwoody Road, Suite C-550
Atlanta, Georgia 30342
U.S.A.
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