Beazer Further Reduces Loss in 3Q FY 2013 Earnings

Builder Beazer Homes USA on a continuing operations basis took a 22-cent basic earnings-per-share loss for the third quarter of fiscal year 2013 ending June 30, compared to a loss of 78 cents per share in that category during 2Q FY 2013 and a loss of $1.92 in 3Q FY 2012.

“With improved homebuilding gross margins, higher average sales prices and strict control over operating expenses, we are poised to report positive net income in our fiscal fourth quarter and expect to report our first full year of profitability in nearly a decade for fiscal 2014,” said CEO Allan Merrill in the company’s earnings release.

Analysts at Sterne Agee said in a report the EPS loss for Beazer Homes’ FY 2013 3Q quarter beat “consensus” estimates expecting a loss of 35 cents per share but did not meet their expectation that there would be a loss of just 17 cents per share. However, they said this was a “small miss.”

Sterne Agee has a “neutral” rating on Beazer Homes.

“We anticipate BZH's sales mix is weighted to entry-level borrowers which, in light of recent mortgage rate volatility, may explain…softer sales trends. Assuming the headline risk for this borrower group has increased rather than decreased, we view BZH as fairly valued at current levels,” the analysts said.