meritage homes corp (MTH) Snapshot

On June 12, 2013, Meritage Homes Corporation entered into a first amendment to credit agreement with JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A, as administrative agent and the other lenders named therein. The amendment amends the company's existing $125 million senior unsecured revolving credit agreement dated as of July 24, 2012 to, among other things, increase the accordion feature by $50 million to allow for an additional increase in the total commitments by up to $75 million to $200 million; increase the available portion of the facility that may be used for letters of credit from 40% of the total commitments to 60% of the total commitments; extend the facility maturity date by one year from July 24, 2014 to July 24, 2015; and amend the formula for calculating the borrowing base to allow for a moderate increase in the advance rate for certain categories of real estate assets. On June 13, 2013, two additional lenders joined the credit agreement lending syndicate by utilizing the accordion feature and thereby increasing the total commitment under the credit agreement by $10 million. Upon the addition of these new lenders to the lending syndicate, the total commitment currently available under the credit agreement is $135 million.

Meritage Homes Corporation reported unaudited consolidated earnings results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2013. Total closing revenue from homebuilding was $336.4 million against $204.4 million last year. Revenue from financial services was $0.8 million. Income before income taxes was $16.5 million against loss before income taxes of $4.6 million last year. Net income was $12.0 million or $0.32 per diluted share against net loss of $4.8 million or $0.15 per basic and diluted share last year. Net cash used in operating activities was $0.1 million against $55.4 million last year. Purchases of property and equipment were $2.7 million against $2.3 million last year. Net income increased primarily due to higher home closing revenue and gross margins, supplemented by leveraging overhead expenses. Based on projections for opening new communities, coupled with a modest increase in average sales per community and higher average sales prices, the company is projecting approximately 40% - 45% year-over-year increase in home closing revenue for each of the three remaining quarters of 2013. Assuming some additional improvement in margins - which are being somewhat constrained by rising construction costs - and the operating leverage demonstrated in the first quarter results, the company would anticipate earnings per diluted share in the range of $2.20 - $2.45 for the year, representing a 350% - 400% increase in pretax earnings. The company expecting additional energy tax credits during 2013, which the company estimate will reduce its effective tax rate to approximately 34% for the rest of the year.

Meritage Homes Corporation Presents at Wells Fargo Industrial & Construction Conference, May-09-2013 01:35 PM. Venue: The New York Palace Hotel, 455 Madison Avenue, New York , NY 10022, United States. Speakers: Larry W. Seay, Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice President.