D.R. Horton, Inc., America’s Builder, Reports Fiscal 2018 Second Quarter Earnings and Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.125 Per Share

ARLINGTON, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- D.R. Horton, Inc.:

Fiscal 2018 Second Quarter Highlights - comparisons to the prior year quarter

• Net income attributable to D.R. Horton increased 53% to $351.0 million or $0.91 per diluted share
• Consolidated pre-tax income increased 26% to $444.8 million
• Consolidated pre-tax profit margin improved 80 basis points to 11.7%
• Net sales orders increased 13% in value to $4.7 billion and 13% in homes to 15,828
• Homes closed increased 16% in value to $3.7 billion and 15% in homes to 12,281
• Increasing fiscal 2018 guidance for consolidated pre-tax profit margin to a range of 12.1% to 12.3%
• Increasing fiscal 2018 guidance for cash flow from operations to at least $800 million excluding Forestar

D.R. Horton, Inc. (NYSE:DHI), America’s Builder, today reported that net income attributable to D.R. Horton for the second fiscal quarter increased 53% to $351.0 million, or $0.91 per diluted share, compared to $229.2 million, or $0.60 per diluted share, in the same quarter of fiscal 2017. Homebuilding revenue for the second quarter of fiscal 2018 increased 16% to $3.7 billion from $3.2 billion in the same quarter of fiscal 2017. Homes closed in the quarter increased 15% to 12,281 homes compared to 10,685 homes closed in the same quarter of fiscal 2017. The current quarter results included $30.1 million of pre-tax inventory and land option charges to cost of sales, of which $24.5 million related to the settlement of an outstanding dispute associated with a land transaction.

For the six months ended March 31, 2018, net income attributable to D.R. Horton increased 24% to $540.3 million, or $1.41 per diluted share, compared to $436.1 million, or $1.15 per diluted share, in the same period of fiscal 2017. Homebuilding revenue for the first six months of fiscal 2018 increased 15% to $6.9 billion from $6.0 billion in the same period of fiscal 2017. Homes closed in the first six months of 2018 increased 15% to 23,069 homes compared to 20,089 homes closed in the same period of fiscal 2017.

The Company’s effective tax rates for the three and six month periods ended March 31, 2018 reflect a tax benefit from the rate reduction from the December Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (Tax Act), an excess tax benefit related to stock-based compensation and the February Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018, which retroactively reinstated the federal tax credit for energy-efficient homes. The six-month period ended March 31, 2018 included a one-time non-cash income tax charge of $108.7 million to re-measure the Company’s net deferred tax assets as a result of the Tax Act.

Net sales orders for the second quarter ended March 31, 2018 increased 13% to 15,828 homes and 13% in value to $4.7 billion compared to 13,991 homes and $4.2 billion in the same quarter of the prior year. The Company’s cancellation rate (cancelled sales orders divided by gross sales orders) for the second quarter of fiscal 2018 was 19% compared to 20% in the prior year quarter. Net sales orders for the first six months of fiscal 2018 increased 14% to 26,581 homes and 15% in value to $8.0 billion compared to 23,232 homes and $7.0 billion in the same period of fiscal 2017.

The Company’s homes in inventory at March 31, 2018 increased 8% to 29,400 homes compared to 27,100 homes at March 31, 2017. The Company's homebuilding land and lot portfolio at March 31, 2018 increased 13% to 257,700 lots, of which 48% were owned and 52% were controlled through option contracts, compared to 227,300 lots at March 31, 2017, of which 52% were owned and 48% were controlled through option contracts.

The Company ended the second quarter with $528.9 million of homebuilding unrestricted cash and a homebuilding debt to total capital ratio of 24.2%. Homebuilding debt to total capital consists of homebuilding notes payable divided by stockholders’ equity plus homebuilding notes payable.

Donald R. Horton, Chairman of the Board, said, “The D.R. Horton team delivered strong results in our second quarter. Net income in the second quarter of fiscal 2018 increased 53% to $351 million on a 17% increase in consolidated revenues to $3.8 billion. Our pre-tax profit margin improved 80 basis points to 11.7%, and our net sales orders increased 13%. These results reflect the strength of our experienced operational teams, diverse product offerings from our family of brands and solid market conditions across our broad national footprint.

“Our balance sheet strength, liquidity and continued earnings growth are increasing our strategic and financial flexibility, and we plan to maintain our disciplined, opportunistic position to enhance the long-term value of our company. We continue to expect to grow our revenues and pre-tax profits at a double-digit annual pace, while generating increasing annual operating cash flows and returns. With 29,400 homes in inventory at the end of March and 258,000 lots owned and controlled, we are well-positioned for the remainder of fiscal 2018 and future years.”

Share Repurchases and Dividends

During the second quarter of fiscal 2018, the Company paid cash dividends of $47.1 million and repurchased 500,000 shares of common stock for $22.5 million. The Company’s remaining stock repurchase authorization at March 31, 2018 was $152.1 million. The Company has also declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.125 per common share that is payable on May 25, 2018 to stockholders of record on May 11, 2018.

Forestar Segment

Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE:FOR)(“Forestar”), a majority-owned subsidiary of D.R. Horton, is a publicly-traded residential and real estate development company, which currently operates in 18 markets and 10 states. Forestar’s operating results for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018 and from October 5, 2017 (acquisition date) through March 31, 2018 are fully consolidated in the Company’s financial statements with the 25% interest not owned by the Company reported as noncontrolling interests.

During the quarter, Forestar sold a portion of its assets for $232.0 million and recognized a gain on the sale of $0.7 million. This strategic asset sale included projects owned both directly and indirectly through ventures and consisted of approximately 750 developed and under development lots, over 4,000 undeveloped lots, 730 unentitled acres, an interest in one multi-family operating property and a multi-family development site. The net proceeds after purchase price adjustments and other costs associated with selling these projects was $217.5 million.

Forestar’s results of operations for the three-month period ended March 31, 2018 and from the acquisition date through March 31, 2018 are included in the Company’s segment information following the consolidated financials. On its conference call today, the Company will providean update on Forestar’s operations and expectations regarding Forestar's investment and growth plans.

Guidance

Based on current market conditions and the Company’s results for the first six months of fiscal 2018, D.R. Horton is updating its fiscal 2018 guidance as follows:

• Consolidated pre-tax profit margin of 12.1% to 12.3% compared to prior guidance of 11.8% to 12.0%
• Consolidated revenues between $15.9 billion and $16.3 billion
• Homes closed between 51,500 and 52,500 homes
• Home sales gross margin in the range of 20.5% to 21.0%, with potential quarterly fluctuations that may be outside of this range
• Income tax rate of approximately 25%, excluding the first quarter non-cash charge to reduce net deferred tax assets as a result of the Tax Act
• Cash flow from operations of at least $800 million excluding Forestar, an increase of $100 million from prior guidance due primarily to a higher expected pre-tax profit margin

D.R. Horton reaffirms its previously issued fiscal 2018 guidance for other metrics including:

• Homebuilding SG&A expense of around 8.7% of homebuilding revenues
• Financial services operating margin of approximately 30%
• Outstanding share count increase of less than 1%

Presentation

Consistent with the first quarter of fiscal 2018, the Company’s consolidated balance sheets and statements of operations present its homebuilding, Forestar land development, financial services and other operations on a combined basis. Prior year amounts have also been combined to reflect this presentation. See the segment information following the consolidated financials for detailed financial information for all of the Company’s reporting segments.

Conference Call and Webcast Details

The Company will host a conference call today (Thursday, April 26) at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The dial-in number is 877-407-8033, and the call will also be webcast from the Company’s website at investor.drhorton.com.

About D.R. Horton, Inc.

D.R. Horton, Inc., America’s Builder, has been the largest homebuilder by volume in the United States for sixteen consecutive years. Founded in 1978 in Fort Worth, Texas, D.R. Horton has operations in 79 markets in 26 states across the United States and closed 48,731 homes in the twelve-month period ended March 31, 2018. The Company is engaged in the construction and sale of high-quality homes through its diverse brand portfolio that includes D.R. Horton, Emerald Homes, Express Homes and Freedom Homes with sales prices ranging from $100,000 to over $1,000,000. D.R. Horton also provides mortgage financing and title services for homebuyers through its mortgage and title subsidiaries.

Forward-Looking Statements

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 our balance sheet strength, liquidity and continued earnings growth are increasing our strategic and financial flexibility, and we plan to maintain our disciplined, opportunistic position to enhance the long-term value of our company; we continue to expect to grow our revenues and pre-tax profits at a double-digit annual pace, while generating increasing annual operating cash flows and returns; and with 29,400 homes in inventory at the end of March and 258,000 lots owned and controlled, we are well-positioned for the remainder of fiscal 2018 and future years. The forward-looking statements also include all metrics in the Guidance section of this release and in the Forestar segment information.

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 cyclical nature of the homebuilding industry and changes in economic, real estate and other conditions; constriction of the credit markets, which could limit our ability to access capital and increase our costs of capital; reductions in the availability of mortgage financing provided by government agencies, changes in government financing programs, a decrease in our ability to sell mortgage loans on attractive terms or an increase in mortgage interest rates; the risks associated with our land and lot inventory; our ability to effect our growth strategies, acquisitions or investments successfully; home warranty and construction defect claims; the effects of a health and safety incident; the effects of negative publicity; supply shortages and other risks of acquiring land, building materials and skilled labor; the impact of an inflationary, deflationary or higher interest rate environment; reductions in the availability of performance bonds; increases in the costs of owning a home; the effects of governmental regulations and environmental matters on our homebuilding operations; the effects of governmental regulations on our financial services operations; our significant debt and our ability to comply with related debt covenants, restrictions and limitations; competitive conditions within the homebuilding and financial services industries; the effects of the loss of key personnel; and information technology failures and data security breaches. 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 and our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, both of which are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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D.R. Horton, Inc.
Jessica Hansen, 817-390-8200
Vice President of Investor Relations
[email protected]

Source: D.R. Horton, Inc.