Meritage Posts $0.9M 4th QTR Loss, Orders Up 15%

Meritage Homes Corp., Scottsdale, Ariz. (NYSE:MTH) on Wednesday after market close reported a net loss of $0.9 million, or $0.03 per diluted share, in the fourth quarter of 2010, compared to net income of $43 million or $1.35 per diluted share in the fourth quarter of 2009. Wall Street was expecting a loss of four cents per share. The loss in 2010 included $5 million of impairments offset by a $5 million net tax benefit, while 2009 net income included $39 million of impairments, offset by a $90 million net tax benefit. Excluding those items, Meritage reduced its pre-tax loss to $311,000 from $8 million in the prior-year quarter. Home building revenue was down 23% to $214.6 million as homes closed dropped 30% to 837. Average prices rose to $256,000 from approximately $233,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009, reflecting a greater percentage of closings in move-up communities and in California, Colorado and Florida, higher-priced areas within Meritage's markets. New orders rose 15% to 713 and new-order dollars rose 7% to $174 million despite a drop of 4% in average active communities. Sales per community increased 21% to 4.7 from 3.9 in 2009. The largest sales increases were in Texas, with 20% year-over-year growth, and Colorado, with 73% growth. No cancellation rate was reported.

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