Revenues increase as new orders rise at Beazer

The third-quarter results at Beazer Homes showed a marked improvement in several categories, including new orders, homes closings, revenues and losses.

The Atlanta-based home builder reported revenues of $254.6 million, compared with $172.8 million in second fiscal quarter of 2011.

Total new orders were 1,555 homes, a 28.0% increase from a year ago, and the second-quarter cancellation rates were 24.5%, compared with 24.3% in fiscal 2011. Beazer reported total home closings at 1,109 homes, a 40.2% increase from the same period last year.

The average sales price from home closings was $227.3 thousand, compared with $213.0 thousand in fiscal 2011.

Net loss for Beazer during the second quarter of 2012 was  $39.9 million, which including a loss from discontinued operations of $1.8 million, compared with a net loss of $59.1million for fiscal 2011, including loss from discontinued operations of $3.4 million.

“I am very pleased with our third quarter results,” said CEO Allan Merrill. “We generated improvement in new home orders, home closings and backlog, recording our fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year increases in these metrics. This improvement reflects both the continuing operational benefits of our path-to-profitability strategies and gradually improving conditions in the housing market."