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horton-d-r-inc-de-managements-discussion-and-analysis-of-financial-condition-and-results-of-operations-form-10-q
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results ofoperations should be read in conjunction with our consolidated financialstatements and related notes included in this quarterly report and with ourannual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016. Some ofthe information contained in this discussion and analysis constitutesforward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual resultscould differ materially from those discussed in these forward-lookingstatements. Factors that could cause or contribute to these differences include,but are not limited to, those described in the "Forward-Looking Statements"section following this discussion.
BUSINESS
D.R. Horton, Inc. is the largest homebuilding company in the United States asmeasured by number of homes closed and revenues. We construct and sell homesthrough our operating divisions in 78 markets in 26 states, under the names ofD.R. Horton, America's Builder, Emerald Homes, Express Homes, Freedom Homes andPacific Ridge Homes. Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms "D.R.Horton," the "Company," "we" and "our" used herein refer to D.R. Horton, Inc., aDelaware corporation, and its predecessors and subsidiaries.Our business operations consist of homebuilding, financial services and otheractivities. Our homebuilding operations primarily include the construction andsale of single-family homes with sales prices generally ranging from $100,000 tomore than $1,000,000, with an average closing price of $297,500 during thequarter ended December 31, 2016. Approximately 90% of our home sales revenues inthe quarter ended December 31, 2016 were generated from the sale ofsingle-family detached homes, with the remainder from the sale of attachedhomes, such as townhomes, duplexes, triplexes and condominiums. We ownedapproximately 500 attached and detached residential rental homes at December 31,2016 compared to 600 at September 30, 2016.Our financial services operations provide mortgage financing and title agencyservices to homebuyers in many of our homebuilding markets. DHI Mortgage, our100% owned subsidiary, provides mortgage financing services primarily to ourhomebuyers and generally sells the mortgages it originates and the relatedservicing rights to third-party purchasers. DHI Mortgage originates loans inaccordance with purchaser guidelines and sells substantially all of its mortgageproduction shortly after origination. Our subsidiary title companies serve astitle insurance agents by providing title insurance policies, examination andclosing services, primarily to our homebuyers.In addition to our core homebuilding and financial services operations, we havesubsidiaries that engage in other business activities. These subsidiariesconduct insurance-related operations, construct and own income-producing rentalproperties, own non-residential real estate including ranch land andimprovements and own and operate oil and gas related assets. At December 31,2016, assets totaling $67.9 million associated with these subsidiaries wereincluded in the Financial Services and Other section of our balance sheet. 31
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We conduct our homebuilding operations in the geographic regions, states andmarkets listed below, and we conduct our financial services operations in manyof these markets. Our homebuilding operating divisions are aggregated into sixreporting segments, also referred to as reporting regions, which comprise themarkets below. Our financial statements contain additional information regardingsegment performance.State Reporting Region/Market State Reporting Region/Market East Region South Central RegionDelaware Northern Delaware Louisiana Baton RougeGeorgia Savannah LafayetteMaryland Baltimore Oklahoma Oklahoma City Suburban Washington, D.C. Texas AustinNew Jersey North New Jersey Dallas South New Jersey El PasoNorth Carolina Charlotte Fort Worth Fayetteville Houston Greensboro/Winston-Salem
Killeen/Temple/Waco
Raleigh/Durham Midland/Odessa Wilmington New Braunfels/San MarcosPennsylvania Philadelphia San AntonioSouth Carolina Charleston Columbia Southwest Region Greenville/Spartanburg Arizona Phoenix Hilton Head Tucson Myrtle Beach New Mexico AlbuquerqueVirginia Northern Virginia West Region Midwest Region California BakersfieldColorado Denver Bay Area Fort Collins FresnoIllinois Chicago Los Angeles CountyMinnesota Minneapolis/St. Paul Orange County Riverside County Southeast Region SacramentoAlabama Birmingham San Bernardino County Huntsville San Diego County Mobile Ventura County Montgomery Hawaii Hawaii Tuscaloosa KauaiFlorida Fort Myers/Naples Maui Jacksonville Oahu Lakeland Nevada Las Vegas Melbourne/Vero Beach Reno Miami/Fort Lauderdale Oregon Portland Orlando Utah Salt Lake City Pensacola/Panama City Washington
Seattle/Tacoma/Everett
Port St. LucieVancouverTampa/SarasotaVolusia CountyWest Palm BeachGeorgiaAtlantaAugustaMississippi Gulf CoastHattiesburgTennesseeNashville 32
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OVERVIEW
During the first quarter of fiscal 2017, demand for new homes continued toreflect the stable to moderately improved trends we experienced across most ofour operating markets in fiscal 2016. We continue to see varying levels ofstrength in new home demand and home prices across our markets, with demand ineach market generally reflecting the relative strength of each market's economy,as measured by job growth, household incomes, household formations and consumerconfidence.Our position as the largest and most geographically diverse homebuilder in theUnited States provides a strong platform for us to compete for new home sales.In recent years, we have focused on expanding our product offerings to moreconsistently include a broad range of homes for entry-level, move-up and luxurybuyers across most of our markets. Our affordable entry-level homes haveexperienced very strong demand from homebuyers, as the entry-level segment ofthe new home market remains under-served, with low inventory levels relative todemand. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2016, we began introducing affordablehomes in communities designed for active adult buyers seeking a low-maintenancelifestyle. We plan to continue to expand our product offerings across more ofour operating markets during fiscal 2017.During the first quarter of fiscal 2017, the number and value of our net salesorders increased 15% and 17%, respectively, compared to the prior year quarter,and the number of homes closed and home sales revenues increased 17% and 20%,respectively. Our pre-tax income was $318.1 million in the first quartercompared to $241.3 million in the prior year quarter, and our pre-tax operatingmargin was 11.0% compared to 10.0%.We believe our business is well positioned for the future because of our broadgeographic operating base and product offerings, our inventory of finished lots,land and homes, our strong balance sheet and liquidity and our experiencedpersonnel across our operating markets. We are focused on growing ourprofitability, generating positive annual cash flows from operations andmanaging our product offerings, pricing, sales pace, and inventory levels tooptimize the return on our inventory investments.We believe that housing demand in our individual operating markets is tiedclosely to each market's economy; therefore, we expect that housing marketconditions will vary across our markets. If the U.S. economy continues toimprove, we would expect to see slow to moderate growth in housing demand,concentrated in markets where job growth is occurring. The pace andsustainability of new home demand and our future results could be negativelyaffected by weakening economic conditions, decreases in the level of employmentand housing demand, decreased home affordability, significant increases inmortgage interest rates or tightening of mortgage lending standards. 33
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STRATEGY
Our operating strategy is focused on leveraging our financial and competitiveposition to increase the returns on our inventory investments while generatingstrong profitability and cash flows. This strategy includes the followinginitiatives:• Maintaining a strong cash balance and overall liquidity position and controlling our level of debt.• Allocating and actively managing our inventory investments across our
operating markets to diversify our geographic risk and optimize returns.
• Offering new home communities that appeal to a broad range of entry-level, move-up, active adult and luxury homebuyers based on consumer demand in each market.
• Modifying product offerings, sales pace, home prices and sales incentives
as necessary in each of our markets to meet consumer demand, align with finished lot supply and construction activity and optimize returns on inventory investments and cash flows.
• Increasing the amount of land and finished lots controlled through option
purchase contracts to mitigate the risk of land ownership.• Investing in land and land development and pursuing opportunistic acquisitions of homebuilding companies in desirable markets, while
controlling the level of land and lots we own in each of our markets
relative to the local new home demand.
• Managing our inventory of homes under construction relative to demand in
each of our markets, including starting construction on unsold homes to
capture new home demand and actively controlling the number of unsold,
completed homes in inventory.
• Controlling the cost of goods purchased from both vendors and subcontractors.
• Improving the efficiency of our land development, construction, sales and
other key operational activities.
• Controlling our selling, general and administrative (SG&A) expense
infrastructure to match production levels.
We expect our operating strategy will allow us to maintain a strong balancesheet and liquidity position while continuing to increase our revenues andprofitability. Our operating strategy has produced positive results in recentyears. However, we cannot provide any assurances that the initiatives listedabove will continue to be successful, and we may need to adjust components ofour strategy to meet future market conditions. 34
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KEY RESULTS
Key financial results as of and for the three months ended December 31, 2016, ascompared to the same period of 2015, were as follows:
Homebuilding:
• Homebuilding revenues increased 20% to $2.8 billion.
• Homes closed increased 17% to 9,404 homes, and the average closing price
of those homes increased 2% to $297,500.
• Net sales orders increased 15% to 9,241 homes, and the value of net sales
orders increased 17% to $2.8 billion.
• Sales order backlog increased 6% to 11,312 homes, and the value of sales
order backlog increased 7% to $3.4 billion.
• Home sales gross margins decreased 10 basis points to 19.8%.
• Inventory and land option charges were $2.3 million compared to $2.0 million.• Homebuilding SG&A expenses as a percentage of homebuilding revenues
decreased by 70 basis points to 9.5%.
• Homebuilding pre-tax income increased 28% to $293.9 million compared to
$228.9 million.
• Homebuilding pre-tax income as a percentage of homebuilding revenues was
10.4% compared to 9.7%.
• Homebuilding cash and cash equivalents totaled $1.1 billion compared to
$1.3 billion and $1.2 billion at September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively.
• Homebuilding inventories totaled $8.7 billion compared to $8.3 billion
and $8.1 billion at September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively.• Homes in inventory totaled 24,500 compared to 23,100 and 21,500 at September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively.
• Owned and controlled lots totaled 212,600 compared to 204,500 and 177,700
at September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively.• Homebuilding debt was $2.8 billion, consistent with the balance at September 30, 2016 and down from $3.3 billion at December 31, 2015.
• Homebuilding debt to total capital was 28.6%, improving from 29.2% at
September 30, 2016 and 35.5% at December 31, 2015.Financial Services and Other:• Financial services and other revenues increased 41% to $78.1 million.
• Financial services and other pre-tax income was $24.2 million compared to
$12.4 million.
• Financial services and other pre-tax income as a percentage of financial
services and other revenues was 31.0% compared to 22.4%. 35
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Consolidated Results:• Consolidated pre-tax income increased 32% to $318.1 million compared to
$241.3 million.
• Consolidated pre-tax income as a percentage of consolidated revenues was
11.0% compared to 10.0%.
• Net income increased 31% to $206.9 million compared to $157.7 million.
• Diluted earnings per share increased 31% to $0.55 compared to $0.42.
• Total equity was $7.0 billion compared to $6.8 billion and $6.1 billion
at September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively.
• Book value per common share increased to $18.70 compared to $18.21 and
$16.39 at September 30, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively.
• Net cash used in operations was $33.3 million compared to $1.5 million.
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS – HOMEBUILDING
The following tables and related discussion set forth key operating andfinancial data for our homebuilding operations by reporting segment as of andfor the three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015. As described in Note A,the prior year amounts presented throughout this discussion reflect certainreclassifications made to conform to the classifications used in the currentyear. Net Sales Orders (1) Three Months Ended December 31, Net Homes Sold Value (In millions) Average Selling Price % % % 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 ChangeEast 1,146 977 17 % $ 331.0$ 270.9 22 % $ 288,800$ 277,300 4 %Midwest 363 245 48 % 143.2 93.9 53 % 394,500 383,300 3 %Southeast 3,148 2,706 16 % 825.1 706.4 17 % 262,100 261,000 - %South Central 2,838 2,528 12 % 711.1 616.9 15 % 250,600 244,000 3 %Southwest 458 335 37 % 106.7 77.2 38 % 233,000 230,400 1 %West 1,288 1,273 1 % 646.8 602.8 7 % 502,200 473,500 6 % 9,241 8,064 15 % $ 2,763.9$ 2,368.1 17 % $ 299,100$ 293,700 2 % Sales Order Cancellations Three Months Ended December 31, Cancelled Sales Orders Value (In millions) Cancellation Rate (2) 2016 2015 2016 2015 2016 2015East 354 358 $ 96.6$ 94.2 24 % 27 %Midwest 56 55 21.1 21.6 13 % 18 %Southeast 950 879 240.6 223.9 23 % 25 %South Central 821 768 208.0 191.6 22 % 23 %Southwest 162 133 37.9 27.4 26 % 28 %West 245 236 119.4 115.2 16 % 16 % 2,588 2,429 $ 723.6$ 673.9 22 % 23 %
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(1) Net sales orders represent the number and dollar value of new sales
contracts executed with customers (gross sales orders), net of cancelled
sales orders.
(2) Cancellation rate represents the number of cancelled sales orders divided
by gross sales orders.
Net Sales Orders
The value of net sales orders increased 17% to $2.8 billion (9,241 homes) forthe three months ended December 31, 2016 from $2.4 billion (8,064 homes) in theprior year period, with increases in all of our regions. The increases in thevalue of sales orders were primarily due to increases in volume and to a lesserextent, increases in selling prices in most regions.The number of net sales orders increased 15%, and the average price of net salesorders increased 2% to $299,100 during the three months ended December 31, 2016compared to the prior year period. The overall increase in our net sales ordersreflects the continued stable to moderately improved market conditions in mostof our markets. Our Denver market contributed the most to the higher volume inour Midwest region and our Phoenix market contributed most to the higher volumein our Southwest region. Our sales order cancellation rate (cancelled salesorders divided by gross sales orders for the period) was 22% in the three monthsended December 31, 2016 compared to 23% in the prior year period.
We believe our business is well positioned to continue to generate increasedsales volume; however, our future sales volumes will depend on the economicstrength of each of our operating markets and our ability to successfullyimplement our operating strategies in each market.
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Table of Contents Sales Order Backlog As of December 31, Homes in Backlog Value (In millions) Average Selling Price % % % 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 ChangeEast 1,394 1,354 3 % $ 408.2$ 389.4 5 % $ 292,800$ 287,600 2 %Midwest 434 345 26 % 177.6 137.0 30 % 409,200 397,100 3 %Southeast 3,864 3,526 10 % 1,064.3 973.8 9 % 275,400 276,200 - %South Central 3,775 3,706 2 % 990.6 963.1 3 % 262,400 259,900 1 %Southwest 658 584 13 % 152.7 127.4 20 % 232,100 218,200 6 %West 1,187 1,150 3 % 610.8 583.3 5 % 514,600 507,200 1 % 11,312 10,665 6 % $ 3,404.2$ 3,174.0 7 % $ 300,900$ 297,600 1 %Sales Order BacklogSales order backlog represents homes under contract but not yet closed at theend of the period. Many of the contracts in our sales order backlog are subjectto contingencies, including mortgage loan approval and buyers selling theirexisting homes, which can result in cancellations. A portion of the contracts inbacklog will not result in closings due to cancellations. Homes Closed and Home Sales Revenue Three Months Ended December 31, Homes Closed Value (In millions) Average Selling Price % % % 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 Change 2016 2015 ChangeEast 1,053 1,053 - % $ 305.8$ 294.5 4 % $ 290,400$ 279,700 4 %Midwest 399 312 28 % 149.6 123.3 21 % 374,900 395,200 (5 )%Southeast 3,337 2,691 24 % 882.5 710.5 24 % 264,500 264,000 - %South Central 2,903 2,478 17 % 738.6 605.0 22 % 254,400 244,100 4 %Southwest 455 322 41 % 104.7 73.9 42 % 230,100 229,500 - %West 1,257 1,205 4 % 616.5 533.7 16 % 490,500 442,900 11 % 9,404 8,061 17 % $ 2,797.7$ 2,340.9 20 % $ 297,500$ 290,400 2 %Home Sales RevenueRevenues from home sales increased 20% to $2.8 billion (9,404 homes closed) forthe three months ended December 31, 2016 from $2.3 billion (8,061 homes closed)in the prior year period. The overall increase in home sales revenues reflectsthe continued stable to moderately improved market conditions in most of ourmarkets.The number of homes closed in the three months ended December 31, 2016 increased17% from the prior year period due to increases in most of our regions. OurPhoenix market contributed most to the higher volume in our Southwest region andour Minneapolis and Denver markets contributed most to the higher volume in ourMidwest region.
The average selling price of homes closed during the three months endedDecember 31, 2016 was $297,500, up slightly from the $290,400 average for theprior year period.
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Table of Contents Homebuilding Operating Margin Analysis Percentages of Related Revenues Three Months Ended December 31, 2016 2015Gross profit - home sales 19.8 % 19.9 %Gross profit - land/lot sales and other 26.8 % 21.3 %Inventory and land option charges (0.1 )% (0.1 )%Gross profit - total homebuilding 19.8 % 19.9 %Selling, general and administrative expense (1) 9.5 % 10.2 %Other (income) expense (1) (0.1 )% (0.1 )%Homebuilding pre-tax income 10.4 % 9.7 %_____________
(1) Prior period percentages for selling, general and administrative expense and
other (income) expense reflect certain reclassifications made to the prior
year financial statements to conform to the classifications used in the
current year. See Note A - Basis of Presentation to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part I, Item I, above.
Home Sales Gross Profit
Gross profit from home sales increased 18% to $552.9 million in the three monthsended December 31, 2016 from $466.6 million in the prior year period anddecreased 10 basis points to 19.8% as a percentage of home sales revenues. Ourgross profit margins have remained relatively stable in recent years and basedon current market conditions, we expect continued stability in our grossmargins. We remain focused on managing the pricing, incentives and sales pace ineach of our communities to optimize the returns on our inventory investments andadjust to local market conditions. These actions could cause our gross profitmargins to fluctuate in future periods.
Land Sales and Other Revenues
Land sales and other revenues were $28.4 million and $20.2 million in the threemonths ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. We continually evaluateour land and lot supply, and fluctuations in revenues and profitability fromland sales occur based on how we manage our inventory levels in various markets.We generally purchase land and lots with the intent to build and sell homes onthem. However, some of the land that we purchase includes commercially zonedparcels that we may sell to commercial developers. We may also sell residentiallots or land parcels to manage our supply or for other strategic reasons. As ofDecember 31, 2016, we had $23.4 million of land held for sale that we expect tosell in the next twelve months.
Inventory and Land Option Charges
At December 31, 2016, we reviewed the performance and outlook for all of ourcommunities and land inventories for indicators of potential impairment andperformed detailed impairment evaluations and analyses when necessary. Weperformed detailed impairment evaluations of communities and land inventorieswith a combined carrying value of $123.2 million and determined that nocommunities or land inventories were impaired. Accordingly, no impairmentcharges were recorded during the three months ended December 31, 2016 comparedto $0.5 million of impairment charges recorded in the same period of 2015.As we manage our inventory investments across our operating markets to optimizereturns and cash flows, we may modify our pricing and incentives, constructionand development plans or land sale strategies in individual active communitiesand land held for development, which could result in the affected communitiesbeing evaluated for potential impairment. Also, if housing or economicconditions weaken in specific markets in which we operate, or if conditionsweaken in the broader economy or homebuilding industry, we may be required toevaluate additional communities for potential impairment. These evaluationscould result in additional impairment charges. 39
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During the three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, we wrote off $2.3million and $1.5 million, respectively, of earnest money deposits andpre-acquisition costs related to land option contracts that we have terminatedor expect to terminate.
Selling, General and Administrative (SG&A) Expense
SG&A expense from homebuilding activities increased 11% to $268.4 million in thethree months ended December 31, 2016 from $241.7 million in the prior yearperiod. As a percentage of homebuilding revenues, SG&A expense decreased 70basis points to 9.5% in the three months ended December 31, 2016 from 10.2% inthe prior year period. This improvement in SG&A expense as a percentage ofrevenues was achieved primarily through leverage of our fixed overhead costsresulting from the increase in homebuilding revenues.Employee compensation and related costs represented 67% of SG&A costs in each ofthe three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015. These costs increased 11% to$179.8 million in the three months ended December 31, 2016 due to increases inthe number of employees and equity and incentive compensation as compared to theprior year period. Our homebuilding operations employed 5,467 and 4,922employees at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.We attempt to control our SG&A costs while ensuring that our infrastructureadequately supports our operations. We expect our SG&A expense as a percentageof homebuilding revenues to be lower in fiscal 2017 than in fiscal 2016;however, we expect the improvement for the full fiscal year to be less than the70 basis point improvement achieved in the quarter ended December 31, 2016.
Interest Incurred
We capitalize interest costs incurred to inventory during active development andconstruction (active inventory). Capitalized interest is charged to cost ofsales as the related inventory is delivered to the buyer. Interest incurreddecreased 21% to $33.5 million in the three months ended December 31, 2016compared to the prior year period due to a 16% decrease in our average debt anda lower average interest rate on outstanding debt. Interest charged to cost ofsales was 1.5% and 1.9% of total cost of sales (excluding inventory and landoption charges) in the three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015,respectively.
Other Income
Other income, net of other expenses, included in our homebuilding operations was$4.1 million in the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to $1.7million in the prior year period. Other income consists of interest income,rental income and various other types of ancillary income, gains, expenses andlosses not directly associated with our homebuilding operations. The activitiesthat result in this ancillary income or expense are not significant, eitherindividually or in the aggregate. 40
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Homebuilding Results by Reporting Region
Three Months Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Homebuilding Homebuilding Homebuilding Pre-tax % of Homebuilding Pre-tax % of Revenues Income (1) Revenues Revenues Income (1) Revenues (In millions)East $ 305.9$ 26.3 8.6 % $ 298.1$ 27.7 9.3 %Midwest 151.1 10.2 6.8 % 123.3 7.0 5.7 %Southeast 883.4 99.6 11.3 % 711.6 76.8 10.8 %South Central 756.9 96.5 12.7 % 612.6 64.7 10.6 %Southwest 108.6 4.0 3.7 % 73.9 2.7 3.7 %West 620.2 57.3 9.2 % 541.6 50.0 9.2 % $ 2,826.1$ 293.9 10.4 % $ 2,361.1$ 228.9 9.7 %
______________
(1) Expenses maintained at the corporate level consist primarily of interest
and property taxes, which are capitalized and amortized to cost of sales
or expensed directly, and the expenses related to operating our corporate
office. The amortization of capitalized interest and property taxes is allocated to each segment based on the segment's cost of sales, while expenses associated with the corporate office are allocated to each segment based on the segment's inventory balances.East Region - Homebuilding revenues increased 3% in the three months endedDecember 31, 2016 compared to the prior year period, due to an increase in theaverage selling price of homes closed. The region generated pre-tax income of$26.3 million in the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to $27.7million in the prior year period. Gross profit from home sales as a percentageof home sales revenue (home sales gross profit percentage) increased by 20 basispoints in the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to the prior yearperiod, largely due to the average selling price increasing by more than theaverage cost of homes closed in the region. As a percentage of homebuildingrevenues, SG&A expenses increased by 110 basis points in the three months endedDecember 31, 2016 compared to the prior year period due to increased personnelcosts to support expected growth in inventory and revenues in fiscal 2017.Midwest Region - Homebuilding revenues increased 23% in the three months endedDecember 31, 2016 compared to the prior year period, due to an increase in homesclosed in our Minneapolis and Denver markets, partially offset by a decrease inthe average selling price of those homes. The region generated pre-tax income of$10.2 million in the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to $7.0million in the prior year period. Home sales gross profit percentage decreasedby 160 basis points in the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to theprior year period, largely due to the average selling price of homes closed inthe region decreasing by more than the average cost. As a percentage ofhomebuilding revenues, SG&A expenses decreased by 240 basis points in the threemonths ended December 31, 2016 compared to the prior year period due to theincrease in revenues.Southeast Region - Homebuilding revenues increased 24% in the three months endedDecember 31, 2016 compared to the prior year period, primarily due to anincrease in the number of homes closed in our Atlanta market. The regiongenerated pre-tax income of $99.6 million in the three months ended December 31,2016 compared to $76.8 million in the prior year period, primarily as a resultof the increase in revenues. Home sales gross profit percentage decreased by 70basis points in the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to the prioryear period, largely due to the average cost of homes closed in the regionincreasing by more than the average selling price. As a percentage ofhomebuilding revenues, SG&A expenses decreased by 110 basis points in the threemonths ended December 31, 2016 compared to the prior year period. 41
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South Central Region - Homebuilding revenues increased 24% in the three monthsended December 31, 2016 compared to the prior year period, primarily due to anincrease in the number of homes closed in our Dallas market. The regiongenerated pre-tax income of $96.5 million in the three months ended December 31,2016 compared to $64.7 million in the prior year period, primarily as a resultof the increase in revenues. Home sales gross profit percentage increased by 80basis points in the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to the prioryear period, largely due to the average selling price increasing by more thanthe average cost of homes closed in the region. As a percentage of homebuildingrevenues, SG&A expenses decreased by 130 basis points in the three months endedDecember 31, 2016 compared to the prior year period.Southwest Region - Homebuilding revenues increased 47% in the three months endedDecember 31, 2016 compared to the prior year period, primarily due to anincrease in the number of homes closed in our Phoenix market. The regiongenerated pre-tax income of $4.0 million in the three months ended December 31,2016 compared to $2.7 million in the prior year period. Home sales gross profitpercentage decreased by 170 basis points in the three months ended December 31,2016 compared to the prior year period, largely due to the average cost of homesclosed in the region increasing by more than the average selling price. As apercentage of homebuilding revenues, SG&A expenses decreased by 110 basis pointsin the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to the prior year period.West Region - Homebuilding revenues increased 15% in the three months endedDecember 31, 2016 compared to the prior year period, primarily due to anincrease in the average selling price of homes closed. The region generatedpre-tax income of $57.3 million in the three months ended December 31, 2016compared to $50.0 million in the prior year period. Home sales gross profitpercentage decreased by 20 basis points in the three months ended December 31,2016 compared to the prior year period, largely due to the average cost of homesclosed in the region increasing by more than the average selling price. As apercentage of homebuilding revenues, SG&A expenses decreased by 40 basis pointsin the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to the prior year period. 42
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INVENTORIES, LAND AND LOT POSITION AND HOMES IN INVENTORY
We routinely enter into land/lot option contracts to purchase land or developedresidential lots at predetermined prices on a defined schedule commensurate withplanned development or anticipated new home demand. We also purchase undevelopedland that generally is vested with the rights to begin development orconstruction work, and we plan and coordinate the development of our land intoresidential lots for use in our homebuilding business. We manage our inventoryof owned land and lots and homes under construction relative to demand in eachof our markets, including starting construction on unsold homes to capture newhome demand and actively controlling the number of unsold, completed homes ininventory.Our inventories at December 31, 2016 and September 30, 2016 are summarized asfollows: As of December 31, 2016 Residential Land/Lots Construction in Developed and Progress and Under Land Held Land Held Total Finished Homes Development for Development for Sale Inventory (In millions)East $ 490.8 $ 452.5 $ 26.5 $ - $ 969.8Midwest 264.3 184.3 11.9 - 460.5Southeast 1,219.7 927.3 44.7 5.6 2,197.3South Central 1,026.7 1,086.6 14.1 11.4 2,138.8Southwest 185.6 193.2 14.2 1.0 394.0West 979.7 1,330.3 22.7 4.9 2,337.6Corporate and unallocated (1) 118.6 122.2 3.1 0.5 244.4 $ 4,285.4$ 4,296.4 $ 137.2 $ 23.4$ 8,742.4 As of September 30, 2016 Residential Land/Lots Construction in Developed and Progress and Under Land Held Land Held Total Finished Homes Development for Development for Sale Inventory (In millions)East $ 448.9 $ 415.4 $ 26.8 $ - $ 891.1Midwest 239.3 189.5 11.9 0.5 441.2Southeast 1,149.8 870.1 44.8 5.6 2,070.3South Central 1,009.6 1,032.0 14.6 19.4 2,075.6Southwest 163.8 189.6 14.1 3.6 371.1West 906.6 1,315.2 22.5 3.3 2,247.6Corporate and unallocated (1) 116.7 123.4 3.1 0.8 244.0 $ 4,034.7$ 4,135.2 $ 137.8 $ 33.2$ 8,340.9__________
(1) Corporate and unallocated inventory consists primarily of capitalized interest and property taxes. 43
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Our land and lot position and homes in inventory at December 31, 2016 andSeptember 30, 2016 are summarized as follows:
As of December 31, 2016 Lots Controlled Under Total Land and Lot Land/Lots Homes Land/Lots Option Purchase Owned and in Owned (1) Contracts (2) Controlled Inventory (3)East 14,200 15,700 29,900 3,000Midwest 3,000 3,300 6,300 1,200Southeast 32,000 41,300 73,300 8,300South Central 40,700 20,100 60,800 7,200Southwest 6,600 2,400 9,000 1,500West 21,800 11,500 33,300 3,300 118,300 94,300 212,600 24,500 56 % 44 % 100 % As of September 30, 2016 Lots Controlled Under Total Land and Lot Land/Lots Homes Land/Lots Option Purchase Owned and in Owned (1) Contracts (2) Controlled Inventory (3)East 13,400 15,100 28,500 3,000Midwest 3,200 2,100 5,300 1,200Southeast 30,600 36,100 66,700 7,600South Central 37,700 25,100 62,800 7,000Southwest 7,500 2,000 9,500 1,300West 20,500 11,200 31,700 3,000 112,900 91,600 204,500 23,100 55 % 45 % 100 %__________
(1) Land/lots owned include approximately 31,600 and 30,400 owned lots that are
fully developed and ready for home construction at December 31, 2016 and
September 30, 2016, respectively. Land/lots owned also include land held for
development representing 6,300 and 7,300 lots at December 31, 2016 and
September 30, 2016, respectively.
(2) The total remaining purchase price of lots controlled through land and lot
option purchase contracts at December 31, 2016 and September 30, 2016 was
$3.8 billion and $3.6 billion, respectively, secured by earnest money
deposits of $173.9 million and $167.0 million, respectively. Our lots
controlled under land and lot option purchase contracts exclude
approximately 600 and 700 lots at December 31, 2016 and September 30, 2016,
respectively, representing lots controlled under lot option contracts for
which we do not expect to exercise our option to purchase the land or lots,
but the underlying contracts have yet to be terminated. We have reserved the
deposits related to these contracts.(3) Homes in inventory include approximately 1,600 model homes at both
December 31, 2016 and September 30, 2016. Approximately 13,400 and 11,800 of
our homes in inventory were unsold at December 31, 2016 and September 30,
2016, respectively. At December 31, 2016, approximately 3,700 of our unsold
homes were completed, of which approximately 500 homes had been completed
for more than six months. At September 30, 2016, approximately 3,500 of our
unsold homes were completed, of which approximately 500 homes had been completed for more than six months. 44
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS – FINANCIAL SERVICES AND OTHER
The following tables and related discussion set forth key operating andfinancial data for our financial services and other operations, comprising DHIMortgage, our subsidiary title companies and other businesses, for the threemonths ended December 31, 2016 and 2015. As described in Note A - Basis ofPresentation to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part I, ItemI, above, the prior year amounts presented throughout this discussion reflectcertain reclassifications made to conform to the classifications used in thecurrent year. Three Months Ended December 31, 2016 2015 % ChangeNumber of first-lien loans originated orbrokered by DHI Mortgage for D.R. Hortonhomebuyers 5,328 4,080 31 %Number of homes closed by D.R. Horton 9,404 8,061 17 %DHI Mortgage capture rate 57 % 51 %Number of total loans originated or brokered byDHI Mortgage for D.R. Horton homebuyers 5,358 4,102 31 %Total number of loans originated or brokered byDHI Mortgage 5,778 4,559 27 %Captive business percentage 93 % 90 %Loans sold by DHI Mortgage to third parties 6,193 4,911 26 % Three Months Ended December 31, 2016 2015 % Change (In
millions)
Loan origination fees $ 3.8$ 4.3 (12 )%Sale of servicing rights and gains from sale ofmortgage loans 57.4 37.2 54 %Other revenues 3.5 2.9 21 %Total mortgage operations revenues 64.7 44.4 46 %Title policy premiums 13.4 10.9 23 %Total revenues 78.1 55.3 41 %General and administrative expense (1) 57.5 47.7 21 %Interest and other (income) expense (1) (3.6 ) (4.8 ) (25 )%Financial services and other pre-tax income $ 24.2$ 12.4 95 % Financial Services and Other Operating Margin Analysis Percentages of Financial Services Revenues Three Months Ended December 31, 2016 2015General and administrative expense (1) 73.6 % 86.3
%
Interest and other (income) expense (1) (4.6 )% (8.7
)%
Financial services and other pre-tax income 31.0 % 22.4
%
_____________
(1) Prior period amounts and percentages for general and administrative expense and interest and other (income) expense reflect certain reclassifications made to conform to the classifications used in the current year. See Note A - Basis of Presentation to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Part I, Item I, above. 45
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Table of ContentsMortgage Loan ActivityThe volume of loans originated and brokered by our mortgage operations isrelated to the number of homes closed by our homebuilding operations. In thethree months ended December 31, 2016, the volume of first-lien loans originatedor brokered by DHI Mortgage for our homebuyers increased 31%, corresponding tothe 17% increase in the number of homes closed by our homebuilding operationscombined with an increase in our mortgage capture rate (the percentage of totalhome closings by our homebuilding operations for which DHI Mortgage handled thehomebuyers' financing). Our mortgage capture rate was 57% in the three monthsended December 31, 2016, up from 51% in the prior year period, primarily due tothe mortgage subsidiary's continued focus on growth and service.Home closings from our homebuilding operations constituted 93% of DHI Mortgageloan originations in the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to 90% inthe prior year period. These rates reflect DHI Mortgage's consistent focus onthe captive business provided by our homebuilding operations.The number of loans sold increased 26% in the three months ended December 31,2016 compared to the prior year period. Virtually all of the mortgage loans heldfor sale on December 31, 2016 were eligible for sale to the Federal NationalMortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation(Freddie Mac) or the Government National Mortgage Association ( Ginnie Mae).Approximately 89% of the mortgage loans sold by DHI Mortgage during the threemonths ended December 31, 2016 were sold to three major financial entities, oneof which purchased 45% of our total loans sold.
Financial Services and Other Revenues and Expenses
Revenues from our financial services and other operations increased 41% to $78.1million in the three months ended December 31, 2016 from $55.3 million in theprior year period, while the number of loan originations increased 27% duringthe same period. Revenues increased at a higher rate than origination volumeprimarily due to improved loan sale execution in the secondary market and higheraverage loan amounts.Our mortgage operations revenues in the three months ended December 31, 2016 and2015 were reduced by $0.9 million and $0.5 million, respectively, to increaseour loss reserves for estimated future recourse obligations and other mortgageloans, and to adjust certain mortgage loans held for sale to fair value. Ourloss reserves for loan recourse obligations are estimated based upon analysis ofthe volume of mortgages originated, loan repurchase requests received, actualrepurchases and losses through the disposition of such loans or requests anddiscussions with our mortgage purchasers. Actual losses on mortgage loans maydiffer from our estimates, which may result in future changes to our lossreserves.General and administrative (G&A) expense from financial services and otheroperations increased 21% to $57.5 million in the three months ended December 31,2016 from $47.7 million in the prior year period. The increase was primarily dueto an increase in employee related costs due to both increased volume and thecost of compliance with mortgage industry regulations. Our financial servicesand other operations employed 1,642 and 1,404 employees at December 31, 2016 and2015, respectively.As a percentage of financial services and other revenues, G&A expense was 73.6%in the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to 86.3% in the prior yearperiod. The improvement was due to the relative increase in revenue and leverageof fixed overhead costs. Fluctuations in financial services G&A expense as apercentage of revenues can be expected to occur, as some components of revenuemay fluctuate differently than loan volumes, and some expenses are not directlyrelated to mortgage loan volume or to changes in the amount of revenue earned.Interest and other income, net of other expense, included in our financialservices and other operations consists primarily of the interest income of ourmortgage subsidiary. Interest and other income in the three months endedDecember 31, 2016 was lower than in the prior year period due to expensesrelated to our other business activities, which include subsidiaries thatconduct insurance-related operations, construct and own income-producing rentalproperties, own non-residential real estate including ranch land andimprovements and own and operate oil and gas related assets. 46
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RESULTS OF OPERATIONS – CONSOLIDATED
Income before Income Taxes
Pre-tax income for the three months ended December 31, 2016 was $318.1 millioncompared to $241.3 million for the prior year period. The increase in ouroperating income is primarily due to higher revenues from increased homeclosings.
Income Taxes
Our income tax expense for the three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 was$111.2 million and $83.6 million, respectively. Our effective tax rate was 35.0%for the three months ended December 31, 2016 compared to 34.6% in the prior yearperiod. The effective tax rate for both periods includes an expense for stateincome taxes, reduced by tax benefits for the domestic production activitiesdeduction and federal energy tax credits.At December 31, 2016 and September 30, 2016, we had deferred tax assets, net ofdeferred tax liabilities, of $478.1 million and $486.6 million, respectively,partially offset by a valuation allowance of $10.3 million. The accounting fordeferred taxes is based upon estimates of future results. Differences betweenthe anticipated and actual outcomes of these future results could have amaterial impact on our consolidated results of operations or financial position.Also, changes in existing federal and state tax laws and tax rates could affectfuture tax results and the valuation of our deferred tax assets.When assessing the realizability of deferred tax assets, we consider whether itis more likely than not that some portion or all of our deferred tax assets willnot be realized. The realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon thegeneration of sufficient taxable income in future periods. We record a valuationallowance when we determine it is more likely than not that a portion of thedeferred tax assets will not be realized. The valuation allowance for bothperiods relates to our state deferred tax assets for net operating loss (NOL)carryforwards. As of December 31, 2016, we believe it is more likely than notthat a portion of our state NOL carryforwards will not be realized because somestate NOL carryforward periods are too brief to realize the related deferred taxassets. We will continue to evaluate both the positive and negative evidence indetermining the need for a valuation allowance with respect to our remainingstate NOL carryforwards. 47
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CAPITAL RESOURCES AND LIQUIDITY
We have historically funded our homebuilding and financial services and otheroperations with cash flows from operating activities, borrowings under bankcredit facilities and the issuance of new debt securities. Our current levels ofcash, borrowing capacity and balance sheet leverage provide us with theoperational flexibility to adjust to changes in homebuilding market conditionsand allow us to increase our investments in homes, finished lots, land and landdevelopment to expand our operations and grow our profitability.At December 31, 2016, our ratio of homebuilding debt to total capital(homebuilding notes payable divided by total equity plus homebuilding notespayable) was 28.6% compared to 29.2% at September 30, 2016 and 35.5% atDecember 31, 2015. We expect to pay our next debt maturity of $350 million inMay 2017 with existing cash, which will further reduce our ratio of homebuildingdebt to total capital. Over the long term, we intend to maintain our ratio ofhomebuilding debt to total capital below 40%, but we expect it to remainsignificantly lower than 40% throughout fiscal 2017. We believe that the ratioof homebuilding debt to total capital is useful in understanding the leverageemployed in our homebuilding operations and comparing our capital structure withother homebuilders. We exclude the debt of our financial services businessbecause it is separately capitalized and its obligation under its repurchasefacility is substantially collateralized and not guaranteed by our parentcompany or any of our homebuilding entities.We believe that our existing cash resources, our revolving credit facility andour mortgage repurchase facility provide sufficient liquidity to fund ournear-term working capital needs and debt obligations. We regularly assess ourprojected capital requirements to fund future growth in our business, repayfuture debt obligations, and support other general corporate and operationalneeds, and we regularly evaluate our opportunities to raise additional capital.We have an automatically effective universal shelf registration statement filedwith the SEC in August 2015, registering debt and equity securities which we mayissue from time to time in amounts to be determined. As market conditionspermit, we may issue new debt or equity securities through the public capitalmarkets or obtain additional bank financing to fund our projected capitalrequirements or provide additional liquidity.
Capital Resources – Homebuilding
Cash and Cash Equivalents – At December 31, 2016, cash and cash equivalents ofour homebuilding segment totaled $1.1 billion.
Bank Credit Facility - We have a $975 million senior unsecured revolving creditfacility with an uncommitted accordion feature that could increase the size ofthe facility to $1.25 billion, subject to certain conditions and availability ofadditional bank commitments. The facility also provides for the issuance ofletters of credit with a sublimit equal to approximately 50% of the revolvingcredit commitment. Letters of credit issued under the facility reduce theavailable borrowing capacity. The interest rate on borrowings under therevolving credit facility may be based on either the Prime Rate or LondonInterbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus an applicable margin, as defined in thecredit agreement governing the facility. The maturity date of the facility isSeptember 7, 2020. At December 31, 2016, there were no borrowings outstandingand $86.9 million of letters of credit issued under the revolving creditfacility, resulting in available capacity of $888.1 million.Our revolving credit facility imposes restrictions on our operations andactivities, including requiring the maintenance of a minimum level of tangiblenet worth, a maximum allowable ratio of debt to tangible net worth and aborrowing base restriction if our ratio of debt to tangible net worth exceeds acertain level. These covenants are measured as defined in the credit agreementgoverning the facility and are reported to the lenders quarterly. A failure tocomply with these financial covenants could allow the lending banks to terminatethe availability of funds under the revolving credit facility or cause anyoutstanding borrowings to become due and payable prior to maturity. In addition,the credit agreement governing the facility imposes restrictions on the creationof secured debt and liens. At December 31, 2016, we were in compliance with allof the covenants, limitations and restrictions of our revolving credit facility. 48
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Secured Letter of Credit Agreement - We have a secured letter of creditagreement which requires us to deposit cash, in an amount approximating thebalance of letters of credit outstanding, as collateral with the issuing bank.The amount of cash restricted for letters of credit issued under this agreementtotaled $3.3 million and $2.9 million at December 31, 2016 and September 30,2016, respectively, and is included in homebuilding restricted cash in ourconsolidated balance sheets.Public Unsecured Debt - We have $350 million principal amount of our seniornotes maturing in May 2017. We currently expect to repay this debt with existingcash. The indenture governing our senior notes imposes restrictions on thecreation of secured debt and liens. At December 31, 2016, we were in compliancewith all of the limitations and restrictions associated with our public debtobligations.Debt and Equity Repurchase Authorizations - Effective August 1, 2016, our Boardof Directors authorized the repurchase of up to $500 million of debt securitiesand $100 million of our common stock effective through July 31, 2017. The fullamount of each of these authorizations was remaining at December 31, 2016.
Capital Resources – Financial Services and Other
Cash and Cash Equivalents – At December 31, 2016, cash and cash equivalents ofour financial services and other operations totaled $34.8 million.
Mortgage Repurchase Facility - Our mortgage subsidiary, DHI Mortgage, has amortgage repurchase facility that is accounted for as a secured financing. Themortgage repurchase facility provides financing and liquidity to DHI Mortgage byfacilitating purchase transactions in which DHI Mortgage transfers eligibleloans to the counterparties against the transfer of funds by the counterparties,thereby becoming purchased loans. DHI Mortgage then has the right and obligationto repurchase the purchased loans upon their sale to third-party purchasers inthe secondary market or within specified time frames from 45 to 60 days inaccordance with the terms of the mortgage repurchase facility. The totalcapacity of the facility is $475 million; however, the capacity can beincreased, without requiring additional commitments, to $550 million during thelast five days of any fiscal quarter and the first twenty-five days of thefollowing fiscal quarter. The capacity of the facility can also be increased to$800 million subject to the availability of additional commitments. We arecurrently in discussions with our lenders and expect to renew and extend theterm of the facility on similar terms prior to its February 24, 2017 maturitydate.As of December 31, 2016, $511.5 million of mortgage loans held for sale with acollateral value of $493.8 million were pledged under the mortgage repurchasefacility. As a result of advance paydowns totaling $74.8 million, DHI Mortgagehad an obligation of $419.0 million outstanding under the mortgage repurchasefacility at December 31, 2016 at a 2.9% annual interest rate.The mortgage repurchase facility is not guaranteed by D.R. Horton, Inc. or anyof the subsidiaries that guarantee our homebuilding debt. The facility containsfinancial covenants as to the mortgage subsidiary's minimum required tangiblenet worth, its maximum allowable ratio of debt to tangible net worth and itsminimum required liquidity. These covenants are measured and reported to thelenders monthly. At December 31, 2016, DHI Mortgage was in compliance with allof the conditions and covenants of the mortgage repurchase facility.In the past, our mortgage subsidiary has been able to renew or extend itsmortgage credit facility at a sufficient capacity and on satisfactory termsprior to its maturity, and obtain temporary additional commitments throughamendments to the credit agreement during periods of higher than normal volumesof mortgages held for sale. The liquidity of our financial services businessdepends upon its continued ability to renew and extend the mortgage repurchasefacility or to obtain other additional financing in sufficient capacities. 49
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Operating Cash Flow Activities
In the three months ended December 31, 2016, we used $33.3 million of cash inour operating activities compared to $1.5 million in the prior year period. Weused $246.3 million of cash to increase our construction in progress andfinished home inventory compared to $290.3 million used in the prior yearperiod. The increase in our construction in progress and finished homesinventory is due to the increase in our number of homes under construction tosupport an expected increase in sales and closings volumes. Cash used toincrease residential land and lots inventory was $152.6 million compared to $8.4million of cash provided by a decrease in residential land and lots inventory inthe prior year period. The most significant source of cash provided by operatingactivities in both periods was net income.
Investing Cash Flow Activities
In the three months ended December 31, 2016, net cash used in investingactivities was $31.3 million compared to $22.2 million in the prior year period.We used $22.2 million and $20.1 million in the three months ended December 31,2016 and 2015, respectively, to purchase property and equipment, including modelhome furniture, office and technology equipment and office buildings to supportour operations. Additionally, during the 2016 period, we paid $4.1 million tocomplete our purchase of the homebuilding operations of Wilson Parker Homes,acquired in September 2016.
Financing Cash Flow Activities
We expect the short-term financing needs of our operations will be funded withexisting cash, cash generated from operations and borrowings under our financialservices credit facility. Our homebuilding revolving credit facility alsoprovides borrowing capacity for short-term liquidity needs as necessary.Long-term financing needs for the growth of our operations have historicallybeen funded with the issuance of senior unsecured debt securities through thepublic capital markets.
During the three months ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, net cash used infinancing activities was $88.3 million and $91.4 million, respectively, andprimarily consisted of repayments of amounts drawn under our mortgage repurchasefacility and payments of cash dividends.
During the three months ended December 31, 2016, our Board of Directors approveda quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 per common share, which was paid onDecember 12, 2016 to stockholders of record on November 28, 2016. In January2017, our Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.10 percommon share, payable on February 15, 2017 to stockholders of record onFebruary 3, 2017. Quarterly cash dividends of $0.08 per common share wereapproved and paid in the comparable quarters of fiscal 2016. The declaration offuture cash dividends is at the discretion of our Board of Directors and willdepend upon, among other things, our future earnings, cash flows, capitalrequirements, financial condition and general business conditions. 50
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CONTRACTUAL CASH OBLIGATIONS, COMMERCIAL COMMITMENTS AND OFF-BALANCE SHEETARRANGEMENTS
Our primary contractual cash obligations are payments under our debt agreementsand lease payments under operating leases. We expect to fund our contractualobligations in the ordinary course of business through a combination of ourexisting cash resources, cash flows generated from profits, our homebuilding andfinancial services credit facilities or other bank financing, and the issuanceof new debt or equity securities through the public capital markets as marketconditions may permit.At December 31, 2016, our homebuilding operations had outstanding letters ofcredit of $90.2 million and surety bonds of $1.0 billion, issued by thirdparties to secure performance under various contracts. We expect that ourperformance obligations secured by these letters of credit and bonds willgenerally be completed in the ordinary course of business and in accordance withthe applicable contractual terms. When we complete our performance obligations,the related letters of credit and bonds are generally released shortlythereafter, leaving us with no continuing obligations. We have no materialthird-party guarantees.Our mortgage subsidiary enters into various commitments related to the lendingactivities of our mortgage operations. Further discussion of these commitmentsis provided in Item 3 "Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About MarketRisk" under Part I of this quarterly report on Form 10-Q.We enter into land and lot option purchase contracts to acquire land or lots forthe construction of homes. Lot option contracts enable us to control significantlot positions with limited capital investment and substantially reduce the risksassociated with land ownership and development. Among our land and lot optionpurchase contracts at December 31, 2016, there were a limited number ofcontracts, representing $34.8 million of remaining purchase price, subject tospecific performance provisions which may require us to purchase the land orlots upon the land sellers meeting their contractual obligations. Furtherinformation about our land option contracts is provided in the "Inventories,Land and Lot Position and Homes in Inventory" section included herein.
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES
As disclosed in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year endedSeptember 30, 2016, our most critical accounting policies relate to revenuerecognition, inventories and cost of sales, business acquisitions, goodwill,warranty claims, legal claims and insurance, income taxes, stock-basedcompensation and fair value measurements. Since September 30, 2016, there havebeen no significant changes to those critical accounting policies.As disclosed in our critical accounting policies in our Form 10-K for the fiscalyear ended September 30, 2016, our reserves for construction defect claimsinclude the estimated costs of both known claims and anticipated future claims.At December 31, 2016 and September 30, 2016, we had reserves for approximately135 and 140 pending construction defect claims, respectively, and no individualexisting claim was material to our financial statements. During the three monthsended December 31, 2016, we established reserves for approximately 15 newconstruction defect claims and resolved 20 construction defect claims for atotal cost of $12.8 million. At December 31, 2015 and September 30, 2015, we hadreserves for approximately 180 and 185 pending construction defect claims,respectively, and no individual existing claim was material to our financialstatements. During the three months ended December 31, 2015, we establishedreserves for approximately 10 new construction defect claims and resolved 15construction defect claims for a total cost of $9.2 million.
SEASONALITY
Although significant changes in market conditions have impacted our seasonalpatterns in the past and could do so again in the future, we generally closemore homes and generate greater revenues and operating income in the third andfourth quarters of our fiscal year. The seasonal nature of our business can alsocause significant variations in our working capital requirements in both ourhomebuilding and financial services operations. As a result of seasonalactivity, our quarterly results of operations and financial position at the endof a particular fiscal quarter are not necessarily representative of the balanceof our fiscal year. 51
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Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements contained in this report, as well as in other materialswe have filed or will file with the SEC, statements made by us in periodic pressreleases and oral statements we make to analysts, stockholders and the press inthe course of presentations about us, may be construed as "forward-lookingstatements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933,Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private SecuritiesLitigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based onmanagement's beliefs as well as assumptions made by, and information currentlyavailable to, management. These forward-looking statements typically include thewords "anticipate," "believe," "consider," "continue," "could," "estimate,""expect," "forecast," "goal," "intend," "likely," "may," "outlook," "plan,""possible," "potential," "predict," "projection," "seek," "should," "strategy,""target," "will," "would" or other words of similar meaning. Any or all of theforward-looking statements included in this report and in any other of ourreports or public statements may not approximate actual experience, and theexpectations derived from them may not be realized, due to risks, uncertaintiesand other factors. As a result, actual results may differ materially from theexpectations or results we discuss in the forward-looking statements. Theserisks, uncertainties and other factors 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;
• 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;
• our ability to effect our growth strategies, acquisitions or investments
successfully;
• the effects of the loss of key personnel; and
• information technology failures and data security breaches.
We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-lookingstatements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.However, any further disclosures made on related subjects in subsequent reportson Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K should be consulted. Additional information aboutissues that could lead to material changes in performance and risk factors thathave the potential to affect us is contained in our annual report on Form 10-Kfor the fiscal year ended September 30, 2016, including the section entitled"Risk Factors," which is filed with the SEC. 52
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