D.R. Horton, Inc., America's Builder, Reports First Quarter Fiscal 2011 Results and Declares Quarterly Dividend

FORT WORTH, Texas, Jan 27, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) --

D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI), America's Builder, today reported a net loss for its first fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2010 of $20.4 million, or $0.06 per diluted share. The quarterly results included $8.4 million in pre-tax charges to cost of sales for inventory impairments and land option cost write-offs. Net income for the same quarter of fiscal 2010 was $192.0 million, or $0.56 per diluted share, which included a tax benefit of $149.2 million. Homebuilding revenue for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 totaled $767.0 million, compared to $1.1 billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2010. Homes closed totaled 3,637, compared to 5,529 homes in the same quarter of fiscal 2010.

Net sales orders for the first quarter ended December 31, 2010 totaled 3,363 homes ($705.6 million), compared to 4,037 homes ($850.1 million) for the same quarter of fiscal 2010. The Company's cancellation rate (cancelled sales orders divided by gross sales orders) for the first quarter of fiscal 2011 was 28%. The Company's sales backlog of homes under contract at December 31, 2010 was 3,854 homes ($795.4 million), compared to 4,136 homes ($884.0 million) at December 31, 2009.

The Company's homebuilding cash and marketable securities at December 31, 2010 totaled $1.5 billion. During the first quarter, the Company reduced the number of homes in inventory by 400, contributing to the net cash provided by operating activities of $49.5 million.

In the first quarter, the Company repurchased a total of $62.5 million principal amount of its outstanding senior notes for a total purchase price of $63.8 million, plus accrued interest.

The Company has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.0375 per share. The dividend is payable on February 18, 2011 to stockholders of record on February 10, 2011.

Donald R. Horton, Chairman of the Board, said, "Housing affordability remains near record highs, interest rates are favorable and new home inventory is still very low. However, we still face challenges, such as rising foreclosures, significant existing home inventory, high unemployment, tight mortgage lending standards and weak consumer confidence.

"We are well positioned for the spring selling season, with homes available to meet the seasonal increase in demand, a broad geographic footprint and price points focused on the first-time homebuyer. While our year-over-year comparisons for net sales orders are very difficult for the next two quarters, we do expect to see an increase from the sales levels we achieved in the December quarter. Our strong balance sheet and liquidity support our long-term strategy of providing affordable homes and increasing our number of active selling communities while controlling our costs. This strategy has proven successful through the downturn as our national market share of new home sales has increased significantly over the last three years."

The Company will host a conference call today (Thursday, January 27th) at 10:00 a.m. Eastern time. The dial-in number is 877-407-8033, and the call will also be webcast from www.drhorton.com on the "Investors" page.

D.R. Horton, Inc., America's Builder, is the largest homebuilder in the United States, based on its 18,983 homes closed in the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2010. Founded in 1978 in Fort Worth, Texas, D.R. Horton has operations in 72 markets in 26 states in the East, Midwest, Southeast, South Central, Southwest and West regions of the United States. The Company is engaged in the construction and sale of high quality homes with sales prices ranging from $90,000 to over $700,000. D.R. Horton also provides mortgage financing and title services for homebuyers through its mortgage and title subsidiaries.

Portions of this document may constitute "forward-looking statements" as defined by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although D.R. Horton believes any such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there is no assurance that actual outcomes will not be materially different. All forward-looking statements are based upon information available to D.R. Horton on the date this release was issued. D.R. Horton does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this release include that we are well positioned for the spring selling season, with homes available to meet the seasonal increase in demand and our expectation to see an increase from the sales levels we achieved in the December quarter. The forward-looking statements also include our continued focus on providing affordable homes and increasing our number of active selling communities while controlling our costs. Factors that may cause the actual results to be materially different from the future results expressed by the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: the continuing downturn in the homebuilding industry, including further deterioration in industry or broader economic conditions; the continuing constriction of the credit markets, which could limit our ability to access capital and increase our costs of capital; the reduction in availability of mortgage financing, increases in mortgage interest rates and the effects of government programs; the limited success of our strategies in responding to adverse conditions in the industry; the impact of an inflationary or deflationary environment; changes in general economic, real estate and other business conditions; the risks associated with our inventory ownership position in changing market conditions; supply risks for land, materials and labor; changes in the costs of owning a home; the effects of governmental regulations and environmental matters on our homebuilding operations; the effects of governmental regulation on our financial services operations; the uncertainties inherent in home warranty and construction defect claims matters; our substantial debt and our ability to comply with related debt covenants, restrictions and limitations; competitive conditions within our industry; our ability to effect any future growth strategies successfully; our ability to realize our deferred income tax asset; and our ability to utilize our tax losses, which could be substantially limited if we experienced an ownership change as defined in the Internal Revenue Code. Additional information about issues that could lead to material changes in performance is contained in D.R. Horton's annual report on Form 10-K which is filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

WEBSITE ADDRESS:www.drhorton.com

SOURCE: D.R. Horton, Inc.

D.R. Horton, Inc.
Stacey Dwyer, EVP, 817-390-8200