UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

 

Form 10-K

 

 

Commission file number: 001-32322

 

Technical Olympic USA, Inc.

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

 

 

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:

(954) 364-4000

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

 

 

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

None

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.  Yes o     No þ

 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.  Yes o     No þ

 

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.  Yes þ     No o

 

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  þ

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large Accelerated Filer o     Accelerated Filer þ     Non-Accelerated Filer o

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).  Yes o     No þ

 

The aggregate market value of the voting stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was approximately $363.0 million as of June 30, 2005.

 

As of March 6, 2006, there were 59,554,997 shares of the Registrant’s common stock outstanding.

 

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

 

Portions of the Registrant’s definitive proxy statement for its 2006 annual meeting of stockholders, which proxy statement will be filed no later than 120 days after the close of the Registrant’s fiscal year ended December 31, 2005, are hereby incorporated by reference in Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

PART I

 

 

We design, build and market high quality detached single-family residences, town homes, and condominiums. We operate in markets characterized by strong population and income growth. Currently, we conduct homebuilding operations through our consolidated operations and unconsolidated joint ventures in various metropolitan markets in ten states, located in four major geographic regions: Florida, the Mid-Atlantic, Texas, and the West. As used in this Form 10-K, “consolidated” information refers only to information relating to our operations which are consolidated in our financial statements; “combined” information includes consolidated information and information relating to our unconsolidated joint ventures.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2005, on a combined basis, we delivered 9,435 homes with an average sales price of $298,000, had 10,623 net sales orders and ended the year with 10,021 homes in backlog. Our consolidated operations delivered 7,769 homes in 2005, having an average sales price of $292,000, had 8,614 net sales orders and generated $2.5 billion in homebuilding revenues and $218.3 million in net income. At December 31, 2005, we had 5,272 consolidated homes in backlog with an aggregate sales value of $1.8 billion, and our unconsolidated joint ventures had 4,749 homes in backlog with an aggregate sales value of $1.5 billion. As of December 31, 2005, we controlled approximately 94,300 homesites on a combined basis.

 

We market our homes to a diverse group of homebuyers, including “first-time” homebuyers, “move-up” homebuyers, homebuyers who are relocating to a new city or state, buyers of second or vacation homes, active-adult homebuyers and homebuyers with grown children who want a smaller home (“empty-nesters”). We market our homes under various brand names including Engle Homes, Newmark Homes, Trophy Homes, and Transeastern Homes.

 

As part of our objective to provide homebuyers a seamless home purchasing experience, we have developed, and are expanding, our complementary financial services business. As part of this business, we provide mortgage financing, closing and settlement services, and offer title, homeowners’ and other insurance products. Our mortgage financing operation’s revenues consist primarily of origination and premium fee income, interest income and the gain on the sale of the mortgages. We sell substantially all of our mortgages and the related servicing rights to third parties. Our mortgage financing operation derives most of its revenues from buyers of our homes, although existing homeowners may also use these services. By comparison, our title and closing services and our insurance agency operations are used by our homebuyers and a broad range of other clients purchasing or refinancing residential or commercial real estate.

 

For financial information about our homebuilding and financial services operating segments, please see our consolidated financial statements on pages F-1 through F-38 of this Form 10-K.

 

Business Strategies

 

Capitalize on Growth Potential in Our Current Markets

 

We believe that a significant portion of our future growth will stem from our ability to increase our homes sales and capture additional market share within our current markets. Currently, we conduct homebuilding operations in various metropolitan markets, each of which is highly fragmented with other homebuilders. Our reputation as a high quality homebuilder combined with our financial resources gives us an advantage over many smaller homebuilders with whom we compete. Consequently, we have an opportunity to significantly strengthen our market position by expanding our product offerings and increasing the size and number of our active selling communities. Generally, our current markets have demonstrated solid income and population growth trends.

 

We have entered into, and expect to expand our use of, joint ventures that acquire and develop land for our homebuilding operations, and/or joint ventures that develop land and also build and market homes. We believe that these joint ventures help us acquire attractive land positions, mitigate and share the risk associated with land ownership and development, increase our return on equity and extend our capital resources. In addition, we seek to use option contracts to acquire land whenever feasible. Option contracts allow us to control significant homesite positions with minimal capital investment and substantially reduce the risks associated with land ownership and development. At December 31, 2005, we controlled approximately 68,900 homesites on a consolidated basis of which 60% were controlled through various option contracts. Additionally, our joint ventures controlled approximately 25,400 homesites at December 31, 2005.

 

 

Our financial services operations require minimal capital investment and are financially advantageous because of the cost savings resulting from using our affiliated mortgage financing operation and the earnings generated by the high volume of transactions completed by our title insurance and closing services operations. We believe that these financial services complement our homebuilding operations and provide homebuyers a more efficient and seamless home purchasing experience. For the year ended December 31, 2005, 65% of our non-cash homebuyers (excluding the Transeastern joint venture) used our mortgage services (approximately 11% of our homebuyers paid in cash), while 91% of our homebuyers used our title and closing services and 19% used our insurance agencies to obtain insurance. We believe that we have an opportunity to grow our financial services business by:

 

 

 

We intend to supplement our primary growth strategy of expansion in our current markets with a disciplined approach to entering new markets. We select our target geographic markets based on, among other things, historical and projected population growth, projected job and income growth, regional economic conditions, availability of strong management with local expertise, land availability, single-family home permit activity and price, the local land development process, consumer tastes, competition, housing inventory and secondary home sales activity. We believe this long-term emphasis on geographic diversification across a range of growing markets with strong fundamentals will enable us to minimize our exposure to adverse economic conditions, seasonality and housing cycles in individual local markets. We may enter new markets through strategic acquisitions of other homebuilders or through initiating operations using our existing management expertise and resources.

 

Homebuilding Operations

 

 

We operate in various metropolitan markets in ten states located in four major geographic regions: Florida, the Mid-Atlantic, Texas, and the West. For the year ended December 31, 2005, Phoenix was our

largest metropolitan market, representing approximately 25% of our combined home deliveries. We currently do not expect the Phoenix market to represent as large a portion of our combined home deliveries in 2006.

 

 

Florida.  Our Florida region is comprised of five metropolitan markets: Jacksonville; Orlando; Southeast Florida, which is comprised of Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Martin, St. Lucie, and Indian River Counties; and Southwest Florida, which is comprised of the Fort Myers/ Naples area. Our Transeastern joint venture operates in these Florida markets as well as the Tampa/St. Petersburg area. For the year ended December 31, 2005, our consolidated operations delivered 2,785 homes in Florida, generating revenue of $829.4 million, or 36.6% of our consolidated revenues from home sales.

 

Mid-Atlantic.  Our Mid-Atlantic region is comprised of four metropolitan markets: Baltimore, Maryland/Southern Pennsylvania; Delaware; Nashville, Tennessee; and Northern Virginia. For the year ended December 31, 2005, our consolidated operations delivered 697 homes in our Mid-Atlantic region generating revenue of $290.3 million, or 12.8% of our consolidated revenues from home sales.

 

Texas.  Our Texas region is comprised of four metropolitan markets: Austin; Dallas/Ft. Worth; Houston; and San Antonio. For the year ended December 31,2005, our consolidated operations delivered 2,059 homes in Texas, generating revenue of $500.6 million, or 22.1% of our consolidated revenues from home sales.

 

West.  Our West region is comprised of three metropolitan markets: Colorado, which is comprised of Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Phoenix, Arizona. For the year ended December 31, 2005, our consolidated operations delivered 2,228 homes in our West region generating revenue of $646.3 million, or 28.5% of our consolidated revenues from home sales.

 

In addition to these consolidated deliveries, our unconsolidated joint ventures delivered an additional 1,666 homes during the year ended December 31, 2005.

 

 

We select our product mix in a particular geographic market based on the demographics of the market, demand for a particular product, margins and the economic strength of the market. We regularly review our product mix in each of our markets so that we can quickly respond to market changes and opportunities.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2005, 36% of our combined home deliveries were from homes in the $200,000 to $300,000 price range, 26% of our combined home deliveries were from homes in the $300,000 to $400,000 price range, 22% of our combined home deliveries were from homes in the under $200,000 price range, and 16% of our combined home deliveries were from homes in the over $400,000 price range. For 2005, 85% of our combined home deliveries were generated from single family homes and 15% of our combined home deliveries were generated from multi-family homes, as compared to 88% of our combined home deliveries from single family homes and 12% of our combined home deliveries from multi-family homes for the year ended December 31, 2004.

 

 

Land is a key raw material and one of our most valuable assets. We believe that by acquiring land and homesites in premier locations, we enhance our competitive standing and reduce our exposure to economic downturns. We believe that homes in premier locations continue to attract homebuyers in both strong and weak economic conditions. We consider that our disciplined acquisition strategy of balancing homesites and land we own and those we can acquire under option contracts provides us access to a substantial supply of quality homesites and land while conserving our invested capital, optimizing our returns, and managing risk.

Types of Land and Homesites.  In our homebuilding operations, we generally acquire land or homesites that are “entitled.” Land is entitled when all requisite residential zoning has been obtained for it. Competition for attractive land in certain of our more active markets, however, leads us to acquire land that is not yet entitled and undertake the entitlement process ourselves.

 

We also generally seek to acquire entitled land and homesites that have water and sewage systems, streets and other infrastructure in place (we refer to these properties as “developed homesites”) because they are ready to have homes built on them. When we acquire entitled homesites that are not developed, we must first put in place the necessary infrastructure before commencing construction. However, we believe that there are economic benefits to undertaking the development of some of the land that we may acquire, and in those cases, we will attempt to take advantage of those economic benefits by engaging in land development activities. In some of these cases, we seek to use special assessment districts to finance any necessary public infrastructure improvements and the costs of land development. These special assessment districts typically issue tax exempt bonds to finance these improvements and costs. These tax exempt bonds are typically secured by the property, are non-recourse to us and are repaid from assessments levied on the property.

 

We generally acquire homesites that are located adjacent to or near our other homesites in a community, which enables us to build and market our homes more cost efficiently than if the homesites were scattered throughout the community. Cost efficiencies arise from economies of scale, such as shared marketing expenses and project management.

 

Land Acquisition Policies.  We have adopted strict land acquisition policies and procedures that cover all homesite acquisitions, including homesites acquired through option contracts. These policies and procedures impose strict standards for assessing all proposed land purchases with the goal of minimizing risk and maximizing our financial returns.

 

Initially, our experienced management teams in each of our divisions conduct extensive analysis on the local market to determine if we want to enter or expand our operations in that market. As part of this analysis, we consider a variety of factors, including:

 

 

We then evaluate and identify specific homesites in desirable locations that are consistent with our strategy for the particular market, including the type of home and anticipated sales price that we wish to offer in the community. In addition, we review:

 

 

In addition, we conduct environmental due diligence, including on-site inspection and soil testing, and confirm that the land has, or is reasonably likely to obtain, the necessary zoning and other governmental entitlements required to develop and use the property for residential home construction.

 

Each land acquisition proposal, which contains specific information relating to the market, property and community, is then subject to review and approval by our Asset Committee. The Asset Committee is

comprised of representatives from our land, finance, sales and marketing, product development, supply management, and legal departments.

 

Land Supply.  We acquire the land and homesites we require for our homebuilding operations through a combination of purchase agreements, option contracts and joint ventures. At December 31, 2005, we controlled approximately 94,300 combined homesites in our homesite inventory. Of this amount, we owned approximately 27,300 homesites, had option contracts on approximately 41,600 homesites and our unconsolidated joint ventures controlled approximately 25,400 homesites. This represents supply for approximately 10.0 years of operations, based on our 2005 deliveries. The table below shows our approximate homesite inventory by region and in total for the periods indicated:

 

 

 

 

Option Contracts.  Option contracts allow us to control significant homesite positions with minimal capital investment, allowing us to increase our return on equity, extend our capital resources and manage the risks associated with land ownership and development. Consequently, we seek to use option contracts to acquire land whenever feasible. Under the option contracts, we have the right, but not the obligation, to buy homesites at predetermined prices on a predetermined takedown schedule anticipated to be commensurate with home starts. Option contracts generally require the payment of a cash deposit or the posting of a letter of credit, which is typically less than 20% of the underlying purchase price. These option contracts are either with land sellers or financial investors who have acquired the land to enter into the option contract with us. Homesite option contracts are generally nonrecourse, thereby limiting our financial exposure for non-performance to our cash deposits and/or letters of credit. At December 31, 2005, we had option contracts on approximately 41,600 homesites and had approximately $218.5 million in cash deposits and $186.9 million in letters of credit under those option contracts. At December 31, 2005, our unconsolidated joint ventures had option contracts on approximately 19,100 homesites.

 

Joint Ventures.  We believe that using joint ventures in our homebuilding operations to acquire and develop land and/or to acquire and develop land and build and market homes helps us acquire attractive land positions, mitigate and share the risks associated with land ownership and development, increase our return on equity and extend our capital resources. We significantly expanded our use of joint ventures during the year ended December 31, 2005, through our acquisition of the homebuilding assets and operations of Transeastern Properties, Inc. We expect to continue to use joint ventures in the future.

Our partners in these joint ventures generally are unrelated homebuilders, land sellers, financial investors, or other real estate entities. In joint ventures where the acquisition, development and/or construction of the property are being financed with debt, the borrowings are non-recourse to us, except that we have agreed to complete certain property development commitments in the event the joint ventures default and to indemnify the lenders for losses resulting from fraud, misappropriation and similar acts. In addition to joint ventures that acquire and develop land for our homebuilding operations, and/or joint ventures that develop land and also build and market homes, we have, on a selective basis, entered into joint ventures that acquire and develop land for sale to unrelated third party builders.

 

At December 31, 2005, our joint ventures controlled approximately 25,400 homesites. At December 31, 2005, we had investments in and receivables from unconsolidated joint ventures of $315.0 million. During the year ended December 31, 2005, our unconsolidated joint ventures had a total of 2,009 net sales orders and 1,666 homes delivered, and at year end our unconsolidated joint ventures had 4,749 homes in backlog with a sales value of $1.5 billion.

 

Land Sales.  As part of our land inventory management strategy, we regularly review our land portfolio to determine whether to sell all or a portion of the homesites and land that we have purchased to capitalize on market opportunities. Our division managers are constantly reviewing the competitive landscape and characteristics of each of our local markets. As a result of these reviews, we will seek to sell land when we have changed our strategy for a certain property or market and/or we have determined that the potential profit realizable from a sale of property outweighs the economics of developing a community. Land sales are incidental to our homebuilding operations and may fluctuate significantly from period to period. Revenues from land sales for the year ended December 31, 2005 were $194.9 million, as compared to $115.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2004.

 

 

We use our purchasing power and a team-oriented sourcing methodology to achieve volume discounts and the best possible service from our suppliers, thereby reducing costs, ensuring timely deliveries and reducing the risk of supply shortages due to allocations of materials. Our team-oriented sourcing methodology involves the use of corporate, regional, and divisional teams of supply management personnel who are responsible for identifying which commodities should be purchased and used on a national, regional, or divisional level to optimize our purchasing power. We have negotiated price arrangements, which we believe are favorable, to purchase lumber, sheetrock, appliances, heating and air conditioning, counter tops, bathroom fixtures, roofing and insulation products, concrete, bricks, floor coverings and other housing equipment and materials. Our purchase contracts are with high quality national and regional suppliers and do not have any minimum purchase requirements.

 

Our supply management team uses our quality control and safety database to monitor and assess the effectiveness of our suppliers and subcontractors within our overall building processes. In addition, our design process includes input from our supply management team to develop product designs that take into account standard material sizes and quantities with the goal of creating product designs that eliminate unnecessary material and labor costs.

 

 

To appeal to the tastes and preferences of local communities, we expend considerable effort in developing an appropriate design and marketing concept for each community, including determining the size, style and price range of the homes and, in certain projects, the layout of streets, individual homesites and overall community design. In addition, in certain markets, outside architects who are familiar with the local communities in which we build, assist us in preparing home designs and floor plans. The product line that we offer in a particular community depends upon many factors, including the housing generally available in the area, the needs of the particular market and our costs of homesites in the community. To improve the efficiency of our design process and make full use of our resources and expertise, we maintain a company-wide database of detailed information relating to the design and construction of our homes, including

architectural plans previously or currently used in our communities. We also use an accelerated product development process that involves gathering our architects, strategic suppliers and subcontractors, and divisional management teams together in intensive working sessions intended to allow us to develop and deploy new product designs faster than the industry norm. As discussed above, this cross-functional approach to product development and design also focuses on reducing costs and inefficiencies in the building process by ensuring that the design process takes into account supply management, building technology and sales and marketing issues.

 

 

We maintain design centers in most of our markets as part of our marketing process and to assist our homebuyers in selecting options and upgrades, which can result in additional revenues. The design centers heighten interest in our homes by allowing homebuyers to participate in the design process and introducing homebuyers to the various flooring, lighting, fixture and hardware options available to them. In keeping with our regional approach, each region decides what type of design center is suitable for the local area. While the size and content of our design centers vary between markets, the focus of all of our design centers is on making the homebuyer’s selection process less complicated and an enjoyable experience, while increasing our profitability.

 

 

Subcontractors perform substantially all of our construction work. Our construction superintendents monitor the construction of each home, coordinate the activities of subcontractors and suppliers, subject the work of subcontractors to quality and cost controls and monitor compliance with zoning and building codes. We typically retain subcontractors pursuant to a contract that obligates the subcontractor to complete construction at a fixed price in a “workmanlike manner.” In addition, under these contracts the subcontractor generally provides us with standard indemnifications and warranties. Typically, we work with the same subcontractors within each market, which provides us with a stable and reliable work force and better control over the costs and quality of the work performed. Although we compete with other homebuilders for qualified subcontractors, we have established long-standing relationships with many of our subcontractors and have not experienced any material difficulties in obtaining the services of desired subcontractors.

 

We typically complete the construction of a home within four to ten months after the receipt of relevant permits. Construction time, however, depends on weather, availability of labor, materials and supplies, and other factors. We do not maintain significant inventories of construction materials, except for materials related to work in progress for homes under construction. While the availability and cost of construction materials may be negatively impacted from time to time due to various factors, including weather conditions, generally, the construction materials used in our operations are readily available from numerous sources. We have established price arrangements or contracts, which we believe are favorable, with suppliers of certain of our building materials, but we are not under specific purchasing requirements.

 

We have, and will continue to establish and maintain, information systems and other practices and procedures that allow us to effectively manage our subcontractors and the construction process. For example, we have implemented information systems that monitor homebuilding production, scheduling and budgeting. We also strongly encourage our subcontractors to participate in a peer review process using an independent quality control database designed to assist us in identifying and addressing quality control issues and operating inefficiencies. We believe that this program has and will continue to improve our efficiency and decrease our construction time.

 

 

We currently market our homes primarily under the Engle Homes brand name in Florida, most of the Mid-Atlantic, and the West, and under the Newmark Homes brand name in Texas and in Nashville, Tennessee. We also market our homes targeted to “first-time” homebuyers under the Trophy Homes brand name, and we market homes in Florida through an unconsolidated joint venture using the Transeastern Homes brand name.

We have recently consolidated our brands to leverage our most successful brands and reduce the costs associated with maintaining multiple brands. We believe our brands are widely recognized in the markets in which we operate for providing quality homes in desirable locations and enjoy a solid reputation among potential homebuyers.

 

We build and market different types of homes to meet the needs of different homebuyers and the needs of different markets. We employ a variety of marketing techniques to attract potential homebuyers through numerous avenues, including Internet web sites for our various homebuilding brands, advertising and other marketing programs. We advertise on television, in newspapers and other publications, through our own brochures and newsletters, on billboards, and in brochures and newsletters produced and distributed by real estate and mortgage brokers.

 

We typically conduct home sales activities from sales offices located in furnished model homes in each community. We use commissioned sales personnel who assist prospective buyers by providing them with floor plans, price information, tours of model homes and information on the available options and other custom features. We provide our sales personnel with extensive training, and we keep them updated as to the availability of financing, construction schedules and marketing and advertising plans to facilitate their marketing and sales activities. We supplement our in-house training program with training by outside marketing and sales consultants.

 

We market and sell homes through our own sales personnel and in cooperation with independent real estate brokers. Because approximately 65% of our sales (based on combined homes delivered) originate from independent real estate brokers, we sponsor a variety of programs and events, including breakfasts, contests and other events to provide the brokers with a level of familiarity with our communities, homes and financing options necessary to successfully market our homes.

 

Sales of our homes generally are made pursuant to a standard sales contract that is tailored to the requirements of each jurisdiction. Generally, our sales contracts require a deposit of a fixed amount or percentage, typically averaging about five percent of the purchase price, plus additional deposits for options and upgrades selected by homebuyers. The contract typically includes a financing contingency which permits the customer to cancel in the event mortgage financing cannot be obtained within a specified period, usually 30 days from the signing. The contract may include other contingencies, such as the prior sale of a buyer’s existing home. We estimate that the average period between the execution of a sales contract for a presold home and closing ranges from four months to over a year, depending on the market.

 

 

Our operating divisions are responsible for both pre-delivery quality control inspections and responding to customers’ post-delivery needs. We believe that the prompt, courteous response to homebuyers’ needs reduces post-delivery repair costs, enhances our reputation for quality and service and ultimately leads to significant repeat and referral business. We conduct home orientations and pre-delivery inspections with homebuyers immediately before closing. In conjunction with these inspections, we create a list of unfinished construction items and address outstanding issues promptly.

 

An integral part of our customer service program includes post-delivery surveys. In most of our markets we contract with independent third parties to conduct periodic post-delivery evaluations of the customer’s satisfaction with their home, as well as the customer’s experience with our sales personnel, construction department and title and mortgage services. Typically, we use a national customer satisfaction survey company to mail customer satisfaction surveys to homeowners within 60 days of their home closing. These surveys provide us with a direct link to the customer’s perception of the entire buying experience as well as valuable feedback on the quality of the homes we deliver and the services we provide.

 

 

For all homes we build, we provide our homebuyers with a one-year or two-year limited warranty on workmanship and materials, and a five to ten-year limited warranty covering major structural defects. The

extent of these warranties may differ in some or all of the states in which we operate. We currently have a homebuilder protective policy which covers warranty claims for structure and design defects related to homes sold by us during the policy period, subject to a significant self-insured retention per occurrence. We have a warranty administration program in conjunction with our homebuilder protective policy insurance carrier that we believe will allow us to more effectively manage and resolve our warranty claims. We subcontract homebuilding work to subcontractors who generally provide us with an indemnity and a certificate of insurance before receiving payments for their work and, therefore, claims relating to workmanship and materials are the primary responsibility of our subcontractors. However, there is no assurance that we will be able to enforce these contractual indemnities. After we deliver a home, we process all warranty requests through our customer service departments located in each of our markets. If a warranty repair is necessary, we manage and supervise the repair to ensure that the appropriate subcontractor takes prompt and appropriate corrective action. Additionally, we have developed a pro-active response and remediation protocol to address any warranty claim that may result in mold damage. We generally have not had any material litigation or claims regarding warranties or latent defects with respect to construction of homes. Current claims and litigation are expected to be substantially covered by our reserves or insurance.

 

Financial Services

 

As part of our objective to provide homebuyers a seamless home purchasing experience, we have developed, and are expanding, our complementary financial services business. As part of this business, we provide mortgage financing, closing and settlement services, and offer title, homeowners’ and other insurance products. Our mortgage financing operation derives most of its revenues from buyers of our homes, although existing homeowners may also use these services. By comparison, our title and closing services and our insurance agency operations are used by our homebuyers and a broad range of other clients purchasing or refinancing residential or commercial real estate.

 

Our mortgage business provides a full selection of conventional, FHA-insured and VA-guaranteed mortgage products to our homebuyers. We are an approved Fannie Mae seller/servicer. We sell substantially all of our loans and the related servicing rights to third party investors. We conduct this business through our subsidiary, Preferred Home Mortgage Company, which has its headquarters in Tampa, Florida and has offices in each of our markets.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2005, approximately 11% of our homebuyers paid in cash and 65% (excluding the Transeastern JV) of our non-cash homebuyers utilized the services of our mortgage business. During 2005, we closed 7,232 loans totaling $1.3 billion in principal amount.

 

Through our title services business, we, as agent, obtain competitively-priced title insurance for, and provide closing services to, our homebuyers as well as third party homebuyers. We conduct this business through our subsidiary, Universal Land Title, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

 

Universal Land Title works with national underwriters and lenders to facilitate client service and coordinates closings at its offices. It is equipped to handle e-commerce applications, e-mail closing packages and digital document delivery. The principal sources of revenues generated by our title insurance business are fees paid to Universal Land Title for title insurance obtained for our homebuyers and other third party residential purchasers. Universal Land Title operates as a title agency with its headquarters in West Palm Beach, Florida and has 29 additional offices.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2005, approximately 91% of our homebuyers used Universal Land Title or its affiliates for their title insurance agency and closing services. We continue to expand our title services business to markets not currently served by Universal Land Title. Third party homebuyers (or non-company customers) accounted for 73% of our title services business revenue for the year ended December 31, 2005.

 

Alliance Insurance and Information Services, LLC, owned by Universal Land Title, is a full service insurance agency serving all of our markets. Alliance markets homeowners’, flood and auto insurance directly to homebuyers and others in all of our markets and also markets life insurance in Florida. Interested homebuyers obtain free quotes and have the necessary paperwork delivered directly to the closing table for

added convenience. For the year ended December 31, 2005, 19% of our new homebuyers used Alliance for their insurance needs.

 

Governmental Regulation

 

We must comply with federal, state, and local laws and regulations relating to, among other things, zoning, treatment of waste, land development, required construction materials, density requirements, building design, and elevation of homes in connection with the construction of our homes. These include laws requiring use of construction materials that reduce the need for energy-consuming heating and cooling systems. In addition, we and our subcontractors are subject to laws and regulations relating to employee health and safety. These laws and regulations are subject to frequent change and often increase construction costs. In some cases, there are laws requiring that commitments to provide roads and other infrastructure be in place prior to the commencement of new construction. These laws and regulations are usually administered by individual counties and municipalities and may result in fees and assessments or building moratoriums. In addition, certain new development projects are subject to assessments for schools, parks, streets and highways and other public improvements, the costs of which can be substantial.

 

The residential homebuilding industry also is subject to a variety of local, state and federal statutes, ordinances, rules and regulations concerning the protection of health and the environment. The requirements, interpretation and/or enforcement of these environmental laws and regulations are subject to change. Environmental laws and conditions may result in delays, may cause us to incur substantial compliance and other costs and can prohibit or severely restrict homebuilding activity in environmentally sensitive regions or areas. In recent years, several cities and counties in which we have developments have submitted to voters and/or approved “slow growth” or “no growth” initiatives and other ballot measures, which could impact the affordability and availability of homes and land within those localities.

 

Our title insurance agency subsidiaries must comply with applicable insurance laws and regulations. Our mortgage financing subsidiary must comply with applicable real estate lending laws and regulations. In addition, to make it possible for purchasers of some of our homes to obtain FHA-insured or VA-guaranteed mortgages, we must construct those homes in compliance with regulations promulgated by those agencies.

 

The mortgage financing and title insurance subsidiaries are licensed in the states in which they do business and must comply with laws and regulations in those states regarding mortgage financing, homeowners’ insurance, and title insurance companies. These laws and regulations include provisions regarding capitalization, operating procedures, investments, forms of policies, and premiums.

 

Competition and Market Forces

 

The development and sale of residential properties is a highly competitive business. We compete in each of our markets with numerous national, regional, and local builders on the basis of a number of interrelated factors including location, price, reputation, amenities, design, quality, and financing. Builders of new homes compete for homebuyers, and for desirable properties, raw materials, and reliable, skilled subcontractors. We also compete with resales of existing homes, available rental housing and, to a lesser extent, resales of condominiums. We believe we generally compare favorably to other builders in the markets in which we operate, due primarily to:

 

 

The housing industry is cyclical and is affected by consumer confidence levels and prevailing economic conditions, including interest rate levels. A variety of other factors affect the housing industry and demand for new homes, including the availability of labor and materials and increases in the costs thereof, changes in costs associated with home ownership such as increases in property taxes, energy costs, changes in consumer preferences, demographic trends, and the availability of and changes in mortgage financing programs.

We compete with other mortgage lenders, including national, regional and local mortgage bankers, mortgage brokers, banks, and other financial institutions, in the origination, sale, and servicing of mortgage loans. Principal competitive factors include interest rates and other features of mortgage loan products available to the consumer. We compete with other insurance agencies, including national, regional, and local insurance agencies, and attorneys in the sale of title insurance, homeowner insurance, and related insurance services. Principal competitive factors include the level of service available, technology, cost and other features of insurance products available to the consumer.

 

Seasonality

 

The homebuilding industry tends to be seasonal, as generally there are more homes sold in the spring and summer months when the weather is milder, although the number of sales contracts for new homes is highly dependent on the number of active communities and the timing of new community openings. Because new home deliveries trail new home contracts by a number of months, we typically have the greatest percentage of home deliveries in the fall and winter, and slow sales in the spring and summer months could negatively affect our full year results. We operate primarily in the Southwest and Southeast, where weather conditions are more suitable to a year-round construction process than in other parts of the country. Our operations in Florida and Texas are at risk of repeated and potentially prolonged disruptions during the Atlantic hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 until November 30.

 

Backlog

 

At December 31, 2005, our consolidated operations had 5,272 homes in backlog representing $1.8 billion in revenue, as compared to 5,094 homes in backlog representing $1.6 billion in revenue as of December 31, 2004. In addition, our unconsolidated joint ventures had 4,749 homes in backlog at December 31, 2005, as compared to 669 homes at December 31, 2004. Backlog represents home purchase contracts that have been executed and for which earnest money deposits have been received, but for which the sale has not yet closed. We do not record home sales as revenues until the closings occur. Historically, most of the homes in our backlog at any given point in time have been closed in the following 12-month period. Although cancellations can disrupt anticipated home closings, we believe that cancellations have not had a material negative impact on our operations or liquidity during the last several years. We attempt to reduce the number of cancellations by reviewing each homebuyer’s ability to obtain mortgage financing early in the sales process and by closely monitoring the mortgage approval process. Our combined home cancellation rate for the year ended December 31, 2005 was approximately 17%, as compared to 16% for the year ended December 31, 2004.

 

Employees

 

At December 31, 2005, we employed 2,467 people in our consolidated operations and our unconsolidated joint ventures employed an additional 580 people. None of our employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. We believe our relations with our employees are good.

 

 

Risks Related to Our Business

 

Economic downturns, excess housing supply or decreased consumer confidence in the geographic areas in which we operate could adversely affect demand and prices for new homes in those areas and could have an adverse effect on our revenues and earnings.

 

Although we operate in various major metropolitan markets, our operations are concentrated in Florida, Texas, and Arizona. Adverse economic or other business conditions, including excess housing supply or decreased consumer confidence in the real estate market in these regions or in any of the particular markets in which we operate, all of which are outside of our control, could have an adverse effect on our revenues and earnings.

We may not be able to acquire suitable land at reasonable prices, which could increase our costs and reduce our earnings and profit margins.

 

We have experienced an increase in competition for available land and developed homesites in most of our markets as a result of the strength of the economy in many of these markets over the past few years and the availability of more capital to major homebuilders. Our ability to continue our development activities over the long-term depends upon our ability to locate and acquire suitable parcels of land or developed homesites to support our homebuilding operations. As competition for land increases, the cost of acquiring it may rise, and the availability of suitable parcels at acceptable prices may decline. If we are unable to acquire suitable land or developed homesites at reasonable prices, it could limit our ability to develop new projects or result in increased land costs that we may not be able to pass through to our customers. Consequently, it could reduce our earnings and profit margins.

 

Changes in economic or other business conditions could cause our significant level of debt to adversely affect our financial condition and prevent us from fulfilling our debt service obligations.

 

We currently have a significant amount of debt, and our ability to meet our debt service obligations will depend on our future performance. Numerous factors outside of our control, including changes in economic or other business conditions generally, or in the markets or industry in which we do business, may adversely affect our operating results and cash flows, which in turn may affect our ability to meet our debt service obligations. As of December 31, 2005, on a consolidated basis, we had approximately $876.6 million aggregate principal amount of debt outstanding (excluding obligations for inventory not owned of $124.6 million and the impact of original issue discounts and premiums), of which $810.0 million in aggregate principal amount matures in 2010 through 2015. As of December 31, 2005, we would have had the ability to borrow an additional $316.1 million under our revolving credit facility, subject to our satisfying the relevant borrowing conditions in that facility. In addition, subject to restrictions in our financing documents, we may incur additional debt.

 

If we are unable to meet our debt service obligations, we may need to restructure or refinance our debt, seek additional equity financing or sell assets. We may be unable to restructure or refinance our debt, obtain additional equity financing or sell assets on satisfactory terms or at all.

 

Our debt instruments impose significant operating and financial restrictions, which may limit our ability to finance future operations or capital needs and pursue business opportunities, thereby limiting our growth.

 

The indentures governing our outstanding notes and our revolving credit facility impose significant operating and financial restrictions on us. These restrictions limit our ability to, among other things:

 

 

These restrictions could limit our ability to finance our future operations or capital needs, make acquisitions, or pursue available business opportunities. In addition, our revolving credit facility requires us to maintain specified financial ratios and satisfy certain financial covenants, the indentures governing our

outstanding notes require us to maintain a specified minimum consolidated net worth, and our warehouse lines of credit require us to maintain the collateral value of our borrowing base. We may be required to take action to reduce our debt or to act in a manner contrary to our business objectives to meet these ratios and satisfy these covenants. A breach of any of the covenants in, or our inability to maintain the required financial ratios under, our revolving credit facility and warehouse lines of credit would prevent us from borrowing additional money under those facilities and could result in a default under those facilities and our other debt obligations. Our failure to maintain the specified minimum consolidated net worth under the indentures will require us to offer to purchase a portion of our outstanding notes. If we fail to purchase these notes, it would result in a default under the indentures and may result in a default under other debt facilities.

 

We may not be successful in our effort to identify, complete, integrate and/or manage acquisitions or joint ventures, which could adversely affect our results of operations and future growth.

 

A principal component of our strategy is to continue to grow profitably in a controlled manner, including, where appropriate, by acquiring other property developers or homebuilders or by entering into joint ventures. We may not be successful in implementing our acquisition or joint venture strategy, and growth may not continue at historical levels or at all. The failure to identify or complete business acquisitions or joint ventures, successfully integrate the businesses we acquire, or otherwise realize the expected benefits of any acquisitions or joint ventures, could adversely affect our results of operations and future growth. Even if we overcome these challenges and risks, we may not realize the expected benefits of our acquisitions or joint ventures, if any.

 

We may need additional financing to fund our operations or for the expansion of our business, and if we are unable to obtain sufficient financing or such financing is obtained on adverse terms, we may not be able to operate or expand our business as planned, which could adversely affect our results of operations and future growth.

 

Our operations require significant amounts of cash. If our business does not achieve the levels of profitability or generate the amount of cash that we anticipate or if we expand through acquisitions, joint ventures, or organic growth faster than anticipated, we may need to seek additional debt or equity financing to operate and expand our business. If we are unable to obtain sufficient financing to fund our operations or expansion, it could adversely affect our results of operations and future growth. We may be unable to obtain additional financing on satisfactory terms or at all. If we raise additional funds through the incurrence of debt, we will incur increased debt service costs and may become subject to additional restrictive financial and other covenants.

 

Changes in accounting rules relating to the consolidation of assets associated with option contracts and joint ventures, or a change in the interpretation or application of such rules, could adversely affect our financial condition and limit our use of such arrangements, which could impact our future growth.

 

We use option contracts and joint ventures to help us acquire attractive land positions, mitigate and share the risk associated with land ownership and development, increase our return on equity, and extend our capital resources. Under current accounting rules, the assets and liabilities associated with certain of these option contracts and joint ventures may not be required to be consolidated in our financial statements. A change in accounting rules or a change in the interpretation of application of such rules to require the consolidation of the assets and liabilities associated with these off-balance sheet arrangements could negatively affect our leverage ratios and could limit our future growth.

 

In the event that tax liabilities arise in connection with the October 2003 restructuring, there can be no assurance that we will not be liable for such amounts.

 

Prior to a restructuring transaction which occurred in October 2003, Technical Olympic, Inc., which we refer to as Technical Olympic, was the parent of our consolidated tax reporting group, and we were jointly and severally liable for any U.S. federal income tax owed by Technical Olympic or any other member of the consolidated group. As part of the restructuring, Technical Olympic was merged into TOI, LLC, a newly-

formed limited liability company of which we are the sole member, and we became the parent of our consolidated tax reporting group. Also, as part of the restructuring, Technical Olympic Services, Inc., which we refer to as TOSI, a newly-formed corporation wholly-owned by Technical Olympic S.A., assumed all liabilities of Technical Olympic. We do not believe that any material tax liabilities will arise by reason of the restructuring. However, there can be no assurance that material tax liabilities will not arise in connection with the restructuring, that we will not be held liable for such amounts or that we will be able to collect from TOSI any amounts for which they may have assumed liability. The assessment of material tax liabilities in connection with the restructuring could have an adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

 

Our business revenues and profitability may be adversely affected by natural disasters or weather conditions.

 

Homebuilders are particularly subject to natural disasters and severe weather conditions as they can delay our ability to timely complete or deliver homes, damage the partially complete or other unsold homes that are in our inventory, negatively impact the demand for homes, and/or negatively affect the price and availability of qualified labor and materials. Our operations are located in many areas that are especially subject to natural disasters; for example, we have significant operations in Florida which is especially at risk of hurricanes. To the extent that hurricanes, severe storms, floods, tornadoes or other natural disasters or similar weather events occur, our business may be adversely affected. To the extent our insurance is not adequate to cover business interruption or losses resulting from these events, our revenues and profitability may be adversely affected.

 

Technical Olympic S.A., our majority stockholder, can cause us to take, or prevent us from taking, actions without the approval of the other stockholders and may have interests that could conflict with the interests of our other stockholders.

 

Technical Olympic S.A. currently owns approximately 67% of the voting power of our common stock. As a result, Technical Olympic S.A. has the ability to control the outcome of virtually all corporate actions requiring stockholder approval, including the election of a majority of our directors, the approval of any merger, and other significant corporate actions. Technical Olympic S.A. may authorize actions or have interests that could conflict with those of our other stockholders.

 

Control of our company by Technical Olympic S.A. and/or our issuance of preferred stock could make it difficult for a third party to acquire us.

 

Through its ownership of voting control of our common stock, Technical Olympic, S.A. can prevent a change in control of us and may be able to prevent or discourage certain other transactions, such as tender offers or stock repurchases, that could give holders of our common stock the opportunity to realize a premium over the then-prevailing market price for their shares of common stock. In addition, our board of directors has the authority to issue preferred stock and to determine the preferences, limitations and relative rights of shares of preferred stock and to fix the number of shares constituting any series and the designation of such series, without any further vote or action by our stockholders. The preferred stock could be issued with voting, liquidation, dividend and other rights superior to the rights of our common stock. The potential issuance of preferred stock may delay or prevent a change in control of us, discourage bids for the common stock at a premium over the market price, and adversely affect the market price of our common stock and the voting and other rights of the holders of our common stock.

 

Our common stock price has been and could continue to be volatile.

 

Our common stock price has been, and could continue to be, volatile. These price fluctuations may be rapid and severe and may leave investors little time to react. Factors that affect the market price of our common stock include:

 

 

Any of these factors could have a material adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

 

Risks Related to Our Industry

 

Changes in economic or other business conditions could adversely affect demand and prices for new homes, which could decrease our revenues.

 

The homebuilding industry historically has been cyclical and is affected significantly by adverse changes in general and local economic conditions, such as:

 

 

Adverse changes in one or more of these conditions, all of which are outside of our control, could reduce demand and/or prices for new homes in some or all of the markets in which we operate. A decline in demand or the prices we can obtain for our homes could decrease our revenues and earnings.

 

We are subject to substantial risks with respect to the land and home inventories we maintain, and fluctuations in market conditions may affect our ability to sell our land and home inventories at expected prices, if at all, which would reduce our profit margins.

 

As a homebuilder, we must constantly locate and acquire new tracts of land for development and developed homesites to support our homebuilding operations. There is a lag between the time we acquire land for development or developed homesites and the time that we can bring the communities to market and sell homes. Lag time varies on a project-by-project basis; however, historically, we have experienced a lag time of up to three years. As a result, we face the risk that demand for housing may decline or costs of labor or materials may increase during this period and that we will not be able to dispose of developed properties or undeveloped land or homesites acquired for development at expected prices or profit margins or within anticipated time frames or at all. The market value of home inventories, undeveloped land, and developed

homesites can fluctuate significantly because of changing market conditions. In addition, inventory carrying costs (including interest on funds used to acquire land or build homes) can be significant and can adversely affect our performance. Because of these factors, we may be forced to sell homes or other property at a loss or for prices that generate lower profit margins than we anticipate. We may also be required to make material write-downs of the book value of our real estate assets in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles if values decline.

 

Supply risks and shortages relating to labor and materials can harm our business by delaying construction and increasing costs.

 

The homebuilding industry from time to time has experienced significant difficulties with respect to:

 

 

These difficulties can, and often do, cause unexpected short-term increases in construction costs and cause construction delays. In addition, to the extent our subcontractors incur increased costs associated with increases in insurance premiums and compliance with state and local regulations, these costs are passed on to us as homebuilders. We are generally unable to pass on any unexpected increases in construction costs to those customers who have already entered into sales contracts, as those contracts generally fix the price of the house at the time the contract is signed, which may be up to one year in advance of the delivery of the home. Furthermore, sustained increases in construction costs may, over time, erode our profit margins. We have historically been able to offset sustained increases in the costs of materials with increases in the prices of our homes and through operating efficiencies. However, in the future, pricing competition may restrict our ability to pass on any additional costs, and we may not be able to achieve sufficient operating efficiencies to maintain our current profit margins.

 

 

Almost all of our customers finance their purchases through mortgage financing obtained from us or other sources. Increases in interest rates or decreases in the availability of mortgage funds provided or sponsored by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, the Federal Housing Administration, or the Veteran’s Administration could cause a decline in the market for new homes as potential homebuyers may not be able to obtain affordable financing. In particular, because the availability of mortgage financing is an important factor in marketing many of our homes, any limitations or restrictions on the availability of those types of financing could reduce our home sales and the lending volume at our mortgage subsidiary. Increased interest rates can also limit our ability to realize our backlog because our sales contracts typically provide our customers with a financing contingency. Financing contingencies allow customers to cancel their home purchase contracts in the event they cannot arrange for financing. Even if our potential customers do not need financing, changes in interest rates and mortgage availability could make it harder for them to sell their existing homes to potential buyers who need financing. Interest rates currently are at one of their lowest levels in decades, and any future increases in interest rates could adversely affect our revenues and profitability.

 

 

The homebuilding industry is highly competitive and fragmented. We compete in each of our markets with numerous national, regional and local builders. Some of these builders have greater financial resources, more experience, more established market positions and better opportunities for land and homesite acquisitions

than we do and have lower costs of capital, labor and material than us. Builders of new homes compete for homebuyers, as well as for desirable properties, raw materials and skilled subcontractors. The competitive conditions in the homebuilding industry could, among other things:

 

 

We also compete with resales of existing homes, available rental housing and, to a lesser extent, condominium resales. An oversupply of attractively priced resale or rental homes in the markets in which we operate could adversely affect our ability to sell homes profitably.

 

Our financial services operations are also subject to competition from third party providers, many of which are substantially larger, may have a lower cost structure and may focus exclusively on providing such services.

 

 

As a homebuilder, we are subject in the ordinary course of our business to product liability and home warranty claims. We provide our homebuyers with a one-year or two-year limited warranty covering workmanship and materials and a five to ten-year limited warranty covering major structural defects. Claims arising under these warranties and general product liability claims are common in the homebuilding industry and can be costly. Although we maintain product liability insurance, the coverage offered by, and availability of, product liability insurance for construction defects is currently limited and, where coverage is available, it may be costly. We currently have a homebuilder protective policy which covers warranty claims for structure and design defects related to homes sold by us during the policy period, subject to a significant self-insured retention per occurrence. However, our product liability insurance and homebuilder protective policies contain limitations with respect to coverage, and there can be no assurance that these insurance rights will be adequate to cover all product liability and warranty claims for which we may be liable or that coverage will not be further restricted and become more costly. In addition, although we generally seek to require our subcontractors and design professionals to indemnify us for liabilities arising from their work, we may be unable to enforce any such contractual indemnities. Uninsured and unindemnified product liability and warranty claims, as well as the cost of product liability insurance and our homebuilder protective policy, could adversely affect our results of operations.

 

 

Lawsuits have been filed against homebuilders and insurers asserting claims of property damages and personal injury caused by the presence of mold in residential dwellings. Some of these lawsuits have resulted in substantial monetary judgments or settlements. Many insurance carriers, including our insurance carriers to some extent, exclude coverage for claims arising from the presence of mold. Uninsured mold liability and claims could adversely affect our results of operations. Historically, we have had a low level of mold litigation and mold related claims and expenses related to any such litigation or claims have been immaterial to our net income. However, there can be no assurance that the amount of mold litigation and claims brought against us will not increase and adversely affect our net income in the future.

 

Several states, cities, and counties in which we operate have approved, and others in which we operate may approve, various “slow growth” or “no growth” initiatives and other ballot measures that could negatively impact the availability of land and building opportunities within those localities. Approval of slow or no growth measures would reduce our ability to build and sell homes in the affected markets and create additional costs and administration requirements, which in turn could have an adverse effect on our future revenues.

 

 

We are subject to extensive and complex laws and regulations that affect the land development and homebuilding process, including laws and regulations related to zoning, permitted land uses, levels of density, building design, elevation of properties, water and waste disposal, and use of open spaces. In addition, we and our subcontractors are subject to laws and regulations relating to workers health and safety. We also are subject to a variety of local, state, and federal laws and regulations concerning the protection of health and the environment. In some of the markets in which we operate, we are required to pay environmental impact fees, use energy saving construction materials and give commitments to provide certain infrastructure such as roads and sewage systems. We must also obtain permits and approvals from local authorities to complete residential development or home construction. The laws and regulations under which we and our subcontractors operate, and our and their obligations to comply with them, may result in delays in construction and development, cause us to incur substantial compliance and other increased costs, and prohibit or severely restrict development and homebuilding activity in certain areas in which we operate.

 

Our financial services operations are subject to numerous federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Failure to comply with these requirements can lead to administrative enforcement actions, the loss of required licenses, and claims for monetary damages.

 

Special Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

 

This annual report contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Discussions containing forward-looking statements may be found in the material set forth in the sections entitled “Business” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” These statements concern expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts, and typically include the words “anticipate”, “believe”, “expect”, “estimate”, “project”, and “future.” Specifically, this annual report contains forward-looking statements regarding:

 

 

These forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future events and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. As a result, actual results may differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. The most important factors that could prevent us from achieving our goals, and cause the assumptions underlying forward-looking statements and the actual results to differ materially from those expressed in or implied by those forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following:

 

 

Availability of Reports and Other Information

 

Our corporate website is www.tousa.com. We make available, free of charge, access to our Annual Report on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K, Proxy Statements on Schedule 14A and amendments to those materials filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 on our website under “Investor Information — SEC Filings,” as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Information on our website is not part of this document.

 

 

None.

 

 

We lease our executive offices located at 4000 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 500 N, Hollywood, Florida 33021. We own a 19,000 square foot facility in Sugar Land, Texas, which houses our Houston homebuilding operations and a design center, which allows a prospective homebuyer to view samples of some of the products and features we offer in our homes in Houston. We lease substantially all of the office space required for our homebuilding and financial services operations and our corporate offices. We believe that our existing facilities are adequate for our current and planned levels of operations and that additional office space suitable for our needs is reasonably available in the markets within which we operate. We do not believe that any single leased property is material to our current or planned operations.

 

 

We are involved in various claims and legal actions arising in the ordinary course of business. We do not believe that the ultimate resolution of these matters will have a material adverse effect on our financial condition or results of operations.

 

 

None.

 

PART II

 

 

Our common stock began trading on the Nasdaq National Market on March 12, 1998 under the symbol “NHCH.” Following our merger with Engle Holdings Corp. on June 25, 2002, our common stock began trading under the symbol “TOUS.” On November 9, 2004, the listing of our common stock was transferred to

the New York Stock Exchange, where it currently trades under the symbol “TOA.” The table below sets forth the high and low sales price for our common stock as reported by the Nasdaq National Market or the New York Stock Exchange for the periods indicated. These prices have been adjusted for our three-for-two stock split paid on June 1, 2004, and our five-for-four stock split paid on March 31, 2005, discussed below.

 

 

 

As of March 6, 2006, there were 31 record holders of our common stock. The closing sale price of our common stock on March 6, 2006 was $19.70 per share.

 

During the twelve months ended December 31, 2004, we declared a cash dividend of $.015 per share of common stock in each of May 2004, August 2004 and November 2004. During the twelve months ended December 31, 2005, we declared a cash dividend of $.015 per share of common stock in each of February 2005, May 2005, August 2005, and November 2005. On February 22, 2006, our Board of Directors declared a cash dividend of $0.015 per share on our outstanding common stock payable on March 17, 2006 to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 6, 2006. The credit agreement relating to our revolving credit facility and the indentures governing our senior notes and senior subordinated notes contain covenants that limit the amount of dividends or distributions we can pay on our common stock and the amount of common stock we can repurchase. Under the terms of our new revolving credit facility, we may not pay cash dividends in excess of 4% of our consolidated net income prior to January 1, 2007, or in excess of 5% of our consolidated net income thereafter.

 

Our board of directors periodically evaluates the propriety of declaring cash dividends. Subject to their evaluation, the board of directors may, from time to time and upon unanimous consent, declare future cash dividends, subject to the restrictions described above and applicable law.

 

On April 27, 2004, our Board of Directors authorized a three-for-two stock split on all outstanding shares of our common stock. The stock split was effected on June 1, 2004 in the form of a 50% stock dividend to shareholders of record at the close of business on May 14, 2004.

 

On March 1, 2005, our Board of Directors authorized a five-for-four stock split on all outstanding shares of our common stock. The stock split was effected on March 31, 2005 in the form of a 25% stock dividend to shareholders of record at the close of business on March 11, 2005.

The following table gives information about our common stock that may be issued upon the exercise of options, warrants, and rights under all existing equity compensation plans as of December 31, 2005.

 

EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

 

 

 

 

 

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with “Selected Financial Data” and the consolidated financial statements and related notes included elsewhere in this report.

 

Executive Summary

 

We generate revenues from our homebuilding operations (“Homebuilding”) and financial services operations (“Financial Services”), which comprise our operating segments. Through our Homebuilding operations we design, build and market high-quality detached single-family residences, town homes and condominiums in various metropolitan markets in ten states located in four major geographic regions: Florida, the Mid-Atlantic, Texas and the West.

 

 

We conduct our Homebuilding operations through our consolidated subsidiaries and through various joint ventures that acquire and develop land for our Homebuilding operations and/or joint ventures that additionally build and market homes. None of these joint ventures is consolidated. At December 31, 2005, our investment in these unconsolidated joint ventures was $254.5 million. Additionally, we had receivables of $60.5 million from these joint ventures. We also seek to use option contracts to acquire land whenever feasible. Option contracts allow us to control significant homesite positions with minimal capital investment and substantially reduce the risks associated with landownership and development. At December 31, 2005, we controlled approximately 68,900 home sites of which 60% were controlled through various option arrangements. Additionally, our joint ventures controlled approximately 25,400 homesites at December 31, 2005.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2005, total consolidated revenues increased 18%, consolidated net income increased 83%, combined net sales orders increased 7% and combined home deliveries increased 29% as compared to the prior year. Consolidated sales value in backlog at December 31, 2005 as compared to December 31, 2004 increased by 12% to $1.8 billion. Our joint ventures had an additional $1.5 billion in sales backlog at December 31, 2005. Our combined home cancellation rate was approximately 17% for the year ended December 31, 2005 as compared to 16% for the year ended December 31, 2004.

 

Homebuilding Operations.  We build homes for inventory (speculative homes) and on a pre-sold basis. At December 31, 2005, we had 7,467 homes completed or under construction on a combined basis compared to 3,990 homes at December 31, 2004. Approximately 19% of these homes were unsold at December 31, 2005 compared to 24% at December 31, 2004. At December 31, 2005, we had 143 completed unsold homes in our inventory on a combined basis, down 30% from 203 homes at December 31, 2004. Approximately 34% of our completed, unsold homes at December 31, 2005 had been completed for more than 90 days. We actively work to control our finished speculative home inventory to reduce carrying costs, increase our available capital and improve our gross margins.

 

Once a sales contract with a buyer has been approved, we classify the transaction as a “new sales order” and include the home in “backlog.” Such sales orders are usually subject to certain contingencies such as the buyer’s ability to qualify for financing. At closing, title passes to the buyer and a home is considered to be “delivered” and is removed from backlog. Revenue and cost of sales are recognized upon the delivery of the home, land or homesite when title is transferred to the buyer. We estimate that the average period between the execution of a sales contract for a home and closing is approximately four months to over a year for presold homes; however, this varies by market. The principal expenses of our Homebuilding operations are (i) cost of sales and (ii) selling, general and administrative (“SG&A”) expenses. Costs of home sales include land and land development costs, home construction costs, previously capitalized indirect costs, capitalized interest and

estimated warranty costs. SG&A expenses for our Homebuilding operations include administrative costs, advertising expenses, on-site marketing expenses,sales commission costs, and closing costs. Sales commissions are included in selling, general and administrative costs when the related revenue is recognized. As used herein, “Homebuilding” includes results of home and land sales. “Home sales” includes results related only to the sale of homes.

 

Our Homebuilding operations continue to be impacted by labor and supply shortages and increases in the cost of materials caused by the recent active hurricane seasons and the high costs of petroleum. We have been notified by several vendors and subcontractors to expect increases in the costs of materials and labor. We are proactively responding to these situations by (1) actively working to reduce the amount of time from sale to delivery; (2) increasing cost contingencies in our home budgets; and (3) increasing home sales prices as quickly as the competitive market will allow. In general, we anticipate a more challenging housing market in 2006, characterized by softening demand, decreased ability to raise home prices, lengthening regulatory processes and higher material costs.

 

Financial Services Operations.  To provide homebuyers with a seamless home purchasing experience, we have a complementary financial services business which provides mortgage financing and closing services and offers title, homeowners’ and other insurance products to our homebuyers and others. Our mortgage financing operation derives most of its revenues from buyers of our homes, although it also offers its services to existing homeowners refinancing their mortgages. Our title and closing services and our insurance agency operations are used by our homebuyers and a broad range of other clients purchasing or refinancing residential or commercial real estate. Our mortgage financing operations’ revenues consist primarily of origination and premium fee income, interest income, and the gain on the sale of the mortgages. Our title operations’ revenues consist primarily of fees and premiums from title insurance and closing services. The principal expenses of our Financial Services operations are SG&A expenses, which consist primarily of compensation and interest expense on our warehouse lines of credit.

 

Critical Accounting Policies

 

In the preparation of our consolidated financial statements, we apply accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. The application of generally accepted accounting principles may require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying results. Listed below are those policies that we believe are critical or require the use of complex judgment in their application.

 

Homebuilding Revenues and Cost of Sales

 

Revenue from the sale of homes and the sale of land and homesites is recognized at closing when title passes to the buyer and all of the following conditions are met: (1) a sale is consummated; (2) a significant down payment is received; (3) the earnings process is complete; and (4) the collection of any remaining receivables is reasonably assured. As a result, our revenue recognition process does not involve significant judgments or estimates. However, we do rely on certain estimates to determine the related construction and land costs and resulting gross profit associated with revenues recognized. Our construction and land costs are comprised of direct and allocated costs, including interest, indirect construction costs and estimated costs for future warranties and indemnities. Our estimates are based on historical results, adjusted for current factors. Land, land improvements and other common costs are generally allocated on a relative fair value basis to units within a parcel or community. Land and land development costs generally include related interest and property taxes incurred until construction is substantially completed.

 

Financial Services Revenues and Expenses

 

Our Financial Services operations generate revenues from their mortgage financing and title operations. Our mortgage financing operations’ revenues consist primarily of origination and premium fee income, interest income and the gain on the sale of the mortgages. Revenue from our mortgage financing operations is recognized when the mortgage loans and related servicing rights are sold to third-party investors. Substantially

all of our mortgages are sold to private investors within 30 days of closing. Title operations revenues consist primarily of title insurance agency and closing services, which are recognized as homes are delivered. As a result, our revenue recognition process does not involve significant judgments or estimates.

 

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

 

Housing communities and land/homesites under development are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Property and equipment is carried at cost less accumulated depreciation. We assess these assets for impairment in accordance with the provisions of SFAS No. 144, “Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.” SFAS No. 144 requires that long-lived assets be reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets is measured by comparing the carrying amount of an asset to future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. These evaluations for impairment are significantly impacted by estimates of future revenues, costs and expenses and other factors involving some amount of uncertainty. If an asset is considered to be impaired, the impairment loss to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset.

 

Goodwill

 

Goodwill is accounted for in accordance with the provisions of SFAS No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.” Pursuant to SFAS No. 142, goodwill is not subject to amortization. Goodwill is subject to at least an annual assessment for impairment by applying a fair-value based test. For purposes of the impairment test, we consider each division a reporting unit. Our impairment test is based on discounted cash flows derived from internal projections. This process requires us to make assumptions on future revenues, costs, and timing of expected cash flows. Due to the degree of judgment required and uncertainties surrounding such estimates, actual results could differ from such estimates. To the extent additional information arises or our strategies change, it is possible that our conclusion regarding goodwill impairment could change, which could have a material effect on our financial position and results of operations. For these reasons, we consider the accounting estimate related to goodwill impairment to be a critical accounting estimate. We performed our annual impairment test as of December 31, 2005 and determined that goodwill was not impaired.

 

Homesite Option Contracts and Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities

 

In the ordinary course of business we enter into option contracts to purchase homesites and land held for development. Option contracts allow us to control significant homesite positions with minimal capital investment and substantially reduce the risks associated with land ownership and development. Our liability for nonperformance under such contracts is generally limited to forfeiture of the related deposits. At December 31, 2005, we owned approximately 27,300 homesites and had option contracts on 41,600 homesites, and our unconsolidated joint ventures controlled 25,400 homesites. At December 31, 2005 and December 31, 2004, we had refundable and nonrefundable deposits aggregating $218.5 million and $132.8 million, respectively, included in inventory. In addition, at December 31, 2005 and December 31, 2004, we had issued $186.9 million and $86.6 million, respectively, in letters of credit under option contracts.

 

We enter into option contracts with land sellers and third-party financial entities as a method of acquiring developed homesites. From time to time to leverage our ability to acquire and finance the development of these homesites, we transfer our option right to third parties. Option contracts generally require the payment of a non-refundable cash deposit or the issuance of a letter of credit for the right to acquire homesites over a specified period of time at predetermined prices. Typically, our deposits or letters of credit are less than 20% of the underlying purchase price. We generally have the right at our discretion to terminate our obligations under these option agreements by forfeiting our cash deposit or repaying amounts drawn under the letter of credit with no further financial responsibility. We do not have legal title to these assets. Additionally, we do not have an investment in the third-party acquiror and do not guarantee their liabilities. However, if certain conditions are met, including the deposit and/or letters of credit exceeding certain significance levels as

compared to the remaining homesites under the option contract, we will include the homesites in inventory with a corresponding liability in obligations for inventory not owned.

 

Homebuilders may enter into option contracts for the purchase of land or homesites with land sellers and third-party financial entities, some of which qualify as Variable Interest Entities (“VIEs”) under Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Interpretation No. 46 (Revised), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities (“FIN 46(R)” ). FIN 46(R) addresses consolidation by business enterprises of VIEs in which an entity absorbs a majority of the expected losses, receives a majority of the entity’s expected residual returns, or both, as a result of ownership, contractual or other financial interests in the entity, which have one or both of the following characteristics: (1) the equity investment at risk is not sufficient to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated support from other parties, which is provided through other interests that will absorb some or all of the expected losses of the entity; or (2) the equity investors lack one or more of the following essential characteristics of a controlling financial interest: (a) the direct or indirect ability to make decisions about the entity’s activities through voting rights or similar rights; or (b) the obligation to absorb the expected losses of the entity if they occur, which makes it possible for the entity to finance its activities; or (c) the right to receive the expected residual returns of the entity if they occur, which is the compensation for the risk of absorbing the expected losses.

 

In applying FIN 46(R) to our homesite option contracts and other transactions with VIEs, we make estimates regarding cash flows and other assumptions. We believe that our critical assumptions underlying these estimates are reasonable based on historical evidence and industry practice. Based on our analysis of transactions entered into with VIEs, we determined that we are the primary beneficiary of certain of these homesite option contracts. Consequently, FIN 46(R) requires us to consolidate the assets (homesites) at their fair value, although (1) we have no legal title to the assets, (2) our maximum exposure to loss is generally limited to the deposits or letters of credits placed with these entities, and (3) creditors, if any, of these entities have no recourse against us. We classify these assets as “inventory not owned” with a corresponding liability in “obligations for inventory not owned” in the accompanying consolidated statement of financial condition. Additionally, we have entered into arrangements with VIEs to acquire homesites in which our variable interest is insignificant and, therefore, we have determined that we are not the primary beneficiary and are not required to consolidate the assets of such VIEs.

 

Warranty Reserves

 

In the normal course of business we will incur warranty related costs associated with homes that have been delivered to the homebuyers. Warranty reserves are established by charging cost of sales and recognizing a liability for the estimated warranty costs for each home that is delivered. We monitor this reserve on a regular basis by evaluating the historical warranty experience in each market in which we operate and the reserve is adjusted as appropriate for current quantitative and qualitative factors. Actual future warranty costs could differ from our currently estimated amounts.

 

Insurance and Litigation Reserves

 

Insurance and litigation reserves have been established for estimated amounts based on an analysis of past history of claims. We have, and require the majority of our subcontractors to have, general liability insurance that protects us against a portion of our risk of loss from construction-related claims. We reserve for costs to cover our self-insured retentions and deductible amounts under these policies and for any costs in excess of our coverage limits. Because of the high degree of judgment required in determining these estimated reserve amounts, actual future claim costs could differ from our currently estimated amounts.

 

Recent Acquisitions

 

On August 1, 2005, through a joint venture (the “Transeastern JV”), we completed the acquisition of the homebuilding assets and operations of Transeastern Properties, Inc. (“Transeastern”) headquartered in Coral Springs, Florida. Our joint venture partner is an entity controlled by the former majority owners of Transeastern. The Transeastern JV acquired Transeastern’s homebuilding assets, including work in process,

finished lots and certain land option rights, for approximately $826.2 million (which includes the assumption of $112.0 million of liabilities, net of $30.8 million of cash). Additional consideration of up to $75.0 million will be paid to the sellers pursuant to an earn out agreement if certain conditions are met, such as achieving predetermined quarterly EBITDA targets and delivery of entitlement on certain tracts of land currently held under lot option contracts. In addition to the net assets acquired in the transaction, the Transeastern JV will have a right of first offer on land developed by a related entity of our joint venture partner for a period of five years. We are the managing member of the Transeastern JV and hold a 50% voting interest. Under the limited liability company agreement that governs the operations of the Transeastern JV (the “JV agreement”), the Transeastern JV is required to make a preferred payment to our joint venture partner. The preferred payment is to be made quarterly and to the extent allowable under certain covenants and restrictions imposed by the joint venture’s bank borrowings. To the extent the joint venture is not allowed to make these payments we are required, under the JV agreement, to advance funds to the Transeastern JV in the form of a member loan in an amount sufficient to make the payment. The member loan bears interest at 18% per annum and is payable once certain conditions and covenants under the JV agreement and the joint venture’s bank borrowings are met. The Transeastern JV was funded with $675.0 million of third party debt capacity (of which $560.0 million was drawn upon acquisition), a $20.0 million subordinated bridge loan from us and $165.0 million of equity, of which $90.0 million was contributed by us. The third party debt is secured by the Transeastern JV’s assets and ownership interests and is non-recourse to us, except that we have agreed to complete any property development commitments on the existing work in process at the time of closing in the event the Transeastern JV defaults and to indemnify the lenders for losses resulting from fraud, misappropriation and similar acts.

 

Selected Homebuilding Operating Data

 

The following tables set forth certain operating and financial data for our homebuilding operations in our four major geographic regions, Florida, the Mid-Atlantic, Texas, and the West (dollars in millions, except average price in thousands):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fiscal Year 2005 Compared to Fiscal Year 2004

 

Total revenues increased 18% to $2.5 billion for the year ended December 31, 2005, from $2.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2004. This increase is attributable to an increase in Homebuilding revenues of 17%, and an increase in Financial Services revenues of 38%.

 

Income before provision for income taxes increased by 82% to $344.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2005, from $190.0 million for the comparable period in 2004. This increase is attributable to an increase in Homebuilding pretax income to $336.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2005, from $181.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2004.

 

Our effective tax rate was 36.7% and 37.0% for the years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively. This change primarily is due to the impact of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004, which was partially offset by an increase in state income taxes resulting from increased income in states with higher tax rates.

 

As a result of the above, net income increased to $218.3 million (or $3.68 per diluted share) for the year ended December 31, 2005 from $119.6 million (or $2.08 per diluted share) for the year ended December 31, 2004.

 

Results of Operations

 

Homebuilding

 

Homebuilding revenues increased 17% to $2.5 billion for the year ended December 31, 2005, from $2.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2004. This increase is due to an increase in revenues from home

sales to $2.3 billion for the year ended December 31, 2005, from $2.0 billion for the comparable period in 2004 and an increase in revenues from land sales to $194.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2005, as compared to $115.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2004. The 14% increase in revenue from home sales was due to (1) an 8% increase in consolidated home deliveries to 7,769 from 7,221 for the year ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively, and (2) a 6% increase in the average selling price on consolidated homes delivered to $292,000 from $275,000 in the comparable period of the prior year. A significant component of this increase was the 31% increase in revenues from home sales in our Florida region for the year ended December 31, 2005 as compared to the same period in 2004. This increase was due to an 18% increase in consolidated homes delivered in Florida and an 11% increase in the average selling price of such homes. The increase in revenues from land sales is due to the sale of various large tracts of land, particularly in the Phoenix market, in an attempt to diversify our risk and recognize embedded profits. As part of our land inventory management strategy, we regularly review our land portfolio. As a result of these reviews, we will seek to sell land when we have changed our strategy for a certain property and/or we have determined that the potential profit realizable from a sale of a property outweighs the economics of developing a community. Land sales are incidental to our residential homebuilding operations and are expected to continue in the future, but may fluctuate significantly from period to period.

 

Our homebuilding gross margin increased 41% to $604.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2005, from $428.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2004. This increase is primarily due to improved gross margin on home sales and an increase in revenue from home sales as well as an increase in gross margin from land sales. Our gross margin on home sales increased to 24.7% for the year ended December 31, 2005, from 19.8% for the year ended December 31, 2004. This increase from period to period is primarily due to: (1) reducing the time period from signing a contract to closing; (2) the phasing of sales to maximize revenues and improve margins; (3) our ability to increase prices in markets with strong housing demand; (4) improved control over costs, such as the re-engineering of existing products to reduce costs of construction and achieve cost synergies from our vendor relationships; and (5) the reduction of carrying costs on inventory through improved control over the number of unsold homes completed or under construction, particularly in our Texas and West regions. For the year ended December 31, 2005, we generated gross margin from land sales of $45.0 million, as compared to $35.4 million for the comparable period in 2004.

 

SG&A expenses increased to $322.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2005, from $251.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2004. The increase in SG&A expenses is due to increased compensation resulting from (1) increased headcount and (2) significantly increased incentive compensation tied to increased earnings, including increased gross profit from land sales and income from unconsolidated joint ventures. This increase in SG&A was partially offset by a decrease of $5.1 million in stock based compensation expense. For the years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, we recognized a compensation charge of $3.5 million and $8.6 million, respectively, due to the variable accounting treatment of certain stock-based awards which include performance-based accelerated vesting criteria and certain other common stock purchase rights. The timing and amount of compensation expense recognized by us with respect to these stock-based awards and common stock purchase rights, if any, is uncertain and depends on the price of our common stock, which fluctuates based upon various factors, many of which are outside of our control. The accelerated vesting of our performance-based stock options depends on the extent to which our stock price performance exceeds the stock price performance of certain of our peers.

 

SG&A expenses as a percentage of revenues from home sales for the year ended December 31, 2005 increased to 14.2%, as compared to 12.7% for the year ended December 31, 2004. The 150 basis point increase in SG&A expenses as a percentage of home sales revenues is due to the increased compensation discussed above. Our ratio of SG&A expenses as a percentage of revenues from home sales is also affected by the fact that our consolidated revenues from home sales do not include revenues recognized by our unconsolidated joint ventures; however, the compensation and other expenses incurred by us in connection with certain of these joint ventures are included in our consolidated SG&A expenses. For the year ended December 31, 2005, the income associated with these joint ventures was $45.7 million, including management fees of $27.2 million, and is shown separately as income from joint ventures in our consolidated statement of income.

Other income consists primarily of interest income earned on the investment of cash.

 

Our net profit margin is calculated by dividing net income by home sales revenues. For the year ended December 31, 2005, our net profit margin increased to 9.6% from 6.0% due to improved gross margins on home sales, increased gross margin from land sales, and increased income from unconsolidated joint ventures.

 

Net Sales Orders and Homes in Backlog (combined)

 

For the year ended December 31, 2005, net sales orders increased by 7% as compared to the same period in 2004. Approximately half of this increase was attributable to the Transeastern joint venture. Our net sales orders in Florida for 2005 were negatively impacted by the adverse weather conditions and preparation and recovery efforts related to the 2005 hurricane season. Additionally, our 2005 net sales orders were adversely impacted by our intentional efforts to slow sales rates to match our production rates, particularly in our Transeastern joint venture. On a broader basis, land development and permitting issues prevented us from opening certain communities within previously anticipated time frames. We expect these factors to continue to negatively impact our combined net sales orders in the near term.

 

We had 10,021 homes in backlog as of December 31, 2005, as compared to 5,763 homes in backlog as of December 31, 2004. The acquisition of Transeastern’s homebuilding assets and operations during 2005 included a significant amount of backlog (3,038 homes). Additionally, during 2005, we transferred 699 homes in backlog and 642 homes under construction, from our consolidated operations in the West Region to an unconsolidated joint venture.

 

Backlog Sales Value (consolidated)

 

The sales value of backlog increased 12% to $1.8 billion at December 31, 2005, from $1.6 billion at December 31, 2004, while the average selling price of homes in backlog increased to $333,000 from $308,000 from period to period. The increase in the average selling price of homes in backlog was primarily due to our ability to increase prices in markets with strong housing demand as well as our continued efforts to phase sales to maximize gross margins.

 

Joint Venture Backlog Sales Value

 

Joint venture revenues are not included in our consolidated financial statements. At December 31, 2005, the sales value of our joint ventures’ homes in backlog was $1.5 billion compared to $210.4 million at December 31, 2004.

 

Financial Services

 

Financial Services revenues increased to $47.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2005, from $34.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2004. This 38% increase is due primarily to an increase in the number of closings at our title and mortgage operations offset by reduced gains in selling mortgages in the secondary market caused by a shift toward more adjustable rate mortgage loans and market reductions in the interest rate margin. For the year ended December 31, 2005, our mix of mortgage originations was 37% adjustable rate mortgages (of which approximately 76% were interest only) and 63% fixed rate mortgages, which is a shift from the comparable period in the prior year of 33% adjustable rate mortgages and 67% fixed rate mortgages. The average FICO score of our homebuyers during the year ended December 31, 2005 was 728, and the average loan to value ratio on first mortgages was 77%. For the year ended December 31, 2005, approximately 11% of our homebuyers paid in cash as compared to 12% during the year ended December 31, 2004. Our combined mortgage operations capture ratio for non-cash homebuyers increased to 65% (excluding the Transeastern JV) for the year ended December 31, 2005 from 58% for the year ended December 31, 2004. The number of closings at our mortgage operations increased to 5,455 for the year ended December 31, 2005, from 4,577 for the year ended December 31, 2004. Our combined title operations capture ratio decreased to 91% of our homebuyers for the year ended December 31, 2005, from 96% for the comparable period in 2004. However, the number of closings at our title operations increased to 23,530 for the year ended December 31,

2005, from 19,750 for the same period in 2004. Non-affiliated customers accounted for approximately 73% of our title company revenues for the year ended December 31, 2005.

 

Financial Services expenses increased to $39.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2005, from $26.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2004. This 49% increase is a result of higher staff levels to support increased activity.

 

Fiscal Year 2004 Compared to Fiscal Year 2003

 

Total revenues increased 27% to $2.1 billion during the year ended December 31, 2004, from $1.7 billion during the year ended December 31, 2003. This increase is attributable to an increase in Homebuilding revenues of 28% offset by a 10% decrease in Financial Services revenues. Although this was a large increase, delays related to the hurricanes in Florida caused our deliveries to lag behind our expectations.

 

Income before provision for income taxes increased by 46% to $190.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2004, from $130.3 million for the comparable period in 2003. This increase is attributable to an increase in Homebuilding pretax income to $181.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2004, from $114.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2003. This was partially offset by a decline in Financial Services pretax income to $8.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2004 from $15.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2003.

 

Our effective tax rate was 37.0% and 36.5% for the years ended December 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively. This increase was due to increases in income in states with higher tax rates.

 

As a result of the above, net income increased to $119.6 million (or $2.08 per diluted share) for the year ended December 31, 2004, from $82.7 million (or $1.56 per diluted share) for the year ended December 31, 2003.

 

Results of Operations

 

Homebuilding

 

Homebuilding revenues increased 28% to $2.1 billion for the year ended December 31, 2004, from $1.6 billion for the year ended December 31, 2003. This increase is due primarily to an increase in revenues from home sales to $2.0 billion for the year ended December 31, 2004, from $1.6 billion for 2003. The 24% increase in revenue from home sales was due to (1) an 18% increase in consolidated home deliveries to 7,221 from 6,135 for the years ended December 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively and (2) a 5% increase in the average selling price on consolidated homes delivered to $275,000 from $262,000 in the prior year. A significant component of this increase was the 55% increase in revenues from home sales in our West region for the year ended December 31, 2004 as compared to 2003. This increase was due to the increased number of consolidated homes delivered and the higher average selling price of such homes. Land sales increased to $115.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2004, as compared to $38.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2003.

 

Our Homebuilding gross margin increased 33% to $428.4 million for the year ended December 31, 2004, from $323.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2003. This increase is primarily due to an increase in revenue from home sales. Our gross margin on home sales increased to 19.8% for the year ended December 31, 2004, from 19.5% for the year ended December 31, 2003. For the year ended December 31, 2004, we generated gross margin on land sales of $35.4 million as compared to $10.6 million for the year ended December 31, 2003.

 

SG&A expenses increased to $251.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2004, from $212.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2003. As a percentage of Homebuilding revenues, SG&A expenses decreased to 12.0% for the year ended December 31, 2004, as compared to 12.9% for 2003. The 90 basis point improvement in SG&A expenses as a percentage of Homebuilding revenues is primarily attributable to the increase in Homebuilding revenues and our ability to generate higher revenue levels while leveraging fixed SG&A costs. The combination of improved gross margins and reduced SG&A expenses as a percentage of

Homebuilding revenues caused our Homebuilding pretax income as a percentage of homebuilding revenues to increase to 8.6% for the year ended December 31, 2004, from 7.0% for the year ended December 31, 2003.

 

SG&A expenses as a percentage of revenues from home sales for the year ended December 31, 2004 decreased to 12.7%, as compared to 13.2% for the prior year. For the years ended December 31, 2004 and 2003, we recognized a compensation charge of $8.6 million and $1.2 million, respectively, for variable accounting of certain stock-based awards which include performance-based accelerated vesting criteria that were partially vested during the year.

 

For the year ended December 31, 2004, income from joint ventures of $3.2 million includes our share of net earnings from these entities and management fees.

 

Net Sales Orders and Backlog Homes (consolidated)

 

For the year ended December 31, 2004, net sales orders increased by 40% and the value of net sales orders increased by 57%, as compared to 2003. The increase is due to strong housing demand in the majority of our markets and an increase in the number of communities in which we are marketing. The average sales price on net sales orders increased by 12.6% to $295,000 for the year ended December 31, 2004, as compared to $262,000 for the year ended December 31, 2003.

 

We had 5,094 homes in backlog, as of December 31, 2004, as compared to 3,128 homes in backlog as of December 31, 2003. This increase in backlog of 63% is primarily attributable to the increased sales activity in many of our existing markets. As a result of the strong housing demand in these markets, we have been able to increase prices in those markets and have experienced a change in the product mix of our homes in backlog. Consequently, our average selling price of homes in backlog has increased to $308,000 as of December 31, 2004 from $274,000 as of December 31, 2003. The increase in homes in backlog was also partially due to fourth quarter delays in delivering homes in several of our markets.

 

Financial Services

 

Financial Services revenues decreased to $34.5 million for the year ended December 31, 2004 from $38.1 million for the year ended December 31, 2003. This 10% decrease is due primarily to a decrease in the number of closings at our title and mortgage operations and reduced gains in selling mortgages in the secondary market caused by a shift toward more adjustable rate mortgage loans and market reductions in the interest margin. For the year ended December 31, 2004, our mix of mortgage originations was 33% adjustable rate mortgages (of which approximately half were interest only) and 67% fixed rate mortgages, which is a shift from the comparable period in the prior year of 17% adjustable rate mortgages and 83% fixed rate mortgages. The average FICO score of our homebuyers during the year ended December 31, 2004 was 728 and the average loan to value ratio on first mortgages was 76%. During the year ended December 31, 2004, approximately 12% of our homebuyers paid in cash as compared to 8% during the year ended December 31, 2003. Our mortgage operations capture ratio for non-cash homebuyers decreased to 58% for the year ended December 31, 2004, from 59% in 2003. The number of closings at our mortgage operations decreased to 4,577 for the year ended December 31, 2004, from 4,663 for the year ended December 31, 2003, primarily due to an increase in the number of homebuyers paying in cash. Our title operations capture ratio increased to 96% of our homebuyers for the year ended December 31, 2004, from 82% in 2003. However, the number of closings at our title operations decreased to 19,750 for the year ended December 31, 2004, from 20,773 for 2003 primarily due to a decrease in refinancing transactions by non-affiliated customers. Non-affiliated customers accounted for approximately 73% of our title company revenues for the year ended December 31, 2004.

 

Financial Services expenses increased to $26.2 million for the year ended December 31, 2004, from $22.5 million for the year ended December, 31 2003. This 16% increase is a result of higher staff levels and $1.5 million in moving costs and employee separation expenses incurred in connection with the relocation of our mortgage company headquarters to Tampa, Florida.

Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources

 

Sources and Uses of Cash

 

Our Homebuilding operations’ primary uses of cash have been for land acquisitions, construction and development expenditures, joint venture investments, and SG&A expenditures. Our sources of cash to finance these uses have been primarily cash generated from operations and cash from our financing activities.

 

Our Financial Services operations primarily use cash to fund mortgages, prior to their sale, and SG&A expenditures. We rely primarily on internally generated funds, which include the proceeds generated from the sale of mortgages, and from the mortgage operations’ warehouse lines of credit to fund these operations.

 

At December 31, 2005, we had unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $34.9 million as compared to $268.5 million at December 31, 2004.

 

Our net income generally is our most significant source of operating cash flow. However, because of our rapid growth in recent periods, our operations have generally used more cash than they have generated. We expect this trend to continue. As a result, cash used in operating activities was $172.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2005, as compared to $15.0 million during the year ended December 31, 2004. The increase in the use of cash in operating activities primarily is due to an increase of $470.1 million in additional inventory to support our growth. These expenditures have been financed by retaining earnings and with the issuance of common stock.

 

Cash used in investing activities was $199.9 million during the year ended December 31, 2005, as compared to $83.3 million during the year ended December 31, 2004. The increase in the use of cash in investing activities primarily is due to an additional $115.0 million spent for investments in unconsolidated joint ventures (including $92.7 million associated with the Transeastern JV) and an additional $20.0 million in loans to the Transeastern JV during the year ended December 31, 2005.

 

On September 13, 2005, pursuant to an underwritten public offering, we sold 3,358,000 shares of our common stock at a price of $28.00 per share. The net proceeds of the offering to us were $89.2 million, after deducting offering costs and underwriting fees of $4.8 million. The offering proceeds were used to pay outstanding indebtedness under our revolving credit facility.

 

Financing Activities

 

Our consolidated borrowings at December 31, 2005 were $911.7 million, up from $860.4 million at December 31, 2004. At December 31, 2005, our Homebuilding borrowings of $876.6 million included $300.0 million in 9% senior notes due 2010, $185.0 million of 103/8% senior subordinated notes due 2012, $125.0 million of 71/2% senior subordinated notes due 2011, $200.0 million of 71/2% senior subordinated notes due 2015, and $65.0 million of revolving credit facility borrowings which bear interest at the reserve-adjusted Eurodollar base rate plus 1.6%. Our weighted average debt to maturity is 5.9 years, while our average inventory turnover is 1.4 times per year.

 

Our outstanding senior notes are guaranteed, on a joint and several basis, by the Guarantor Subsidiaries, which are all of our material direct and indirect subsidiaries, other than our mortgage and title operations subsidiaries (the Non-guarantor Subsidiaries). Our outstanding senior subordinated notes are guaranteed on a senior subordinated basis by all of the Guarantor Subsidiaries. The senior notes rank pari passu in right of payment with all of our existing and future unsecured senior debt and senior in right of payment to the senior subordinated notes and any future subordinated debt. The senior subordinated notes rank pari passu in right of payment with all of our existing and future unsecured senior subordinated debt. The indentures governing the senior notes and senior subordinated notes require us to maintain a minimum net worth and place certain restrictions on our ability, among other things, to incur additional debt (other than under our revolving credit facility), pay or make dividends or other distributions, sell assets, enter into transactions with affiliates, invest in joint ventures above specified amounts, and merge or consolidate with other entities. Interest on our outstanding senior notes and senior subordinated notes is payable semi-annually each year.

Our financial leverage, as measured by the ratio of Homebuilding net debt to capital, decreased slightly to 46.7% at December 31, 2005 from 47.3% at December 31, 2004, due primarily to the issuance of common stock and the retention of earnings. As noted above, however, we have made significant investments in inventory consistent with our growth strategy which we have financed, in part, through debt, additional equity, and internally generated cash. We believe that our financial leverage is appropriate given our industry, size and current growth strategy.

 

 

 

 

Homebuilding net debt to capital is not a financial measure required by generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and other companies may calculate it differently. We have included this information as we believe that the ratio of Homebuilding net debt to capital provides comparability among other publicly-traded homebuilders. In addition, management uses this information in measuring the financial leverage of our homebuilding operations, which is our primary business. Homebuilding net debt to capital has limitations as a measure of financial leverage because it excludes Financial Services bank borrowings and it reduces our Homebuilding debt by the amount of our unrestricted cash. Management compensates for these limitations by using Homebuilding net debt to capital as only one of several comparative tools, together with GAAP measurements, to assist in the evaluation of our financial leverage. It should not be construed as an indication of our operating performance or as a measure of our liquidity.

 

On March 9, 2006, we entered into a new unsecured credit facility replacing our previous $600.0 million revolving credit facility. Our new revolving credit facility is substantially similar to our prior revolving credit facility but permits us to borrow up to the lesser of (i) $800.0 million or (ii) our borrowing base (calculated in accordance with the revolving credit facility agreement) minus our outstanding senior debt. The facility has a letter of credit subfacility of $400.0 million. In addition, we have the right to increase the size of the facility to provide up to an additional $150.0 million of revolving loans, provided we give 10 business days’ notice of our intention to increase the size of the facility and we meet the following conditions: (i) at the time of and after giving effect to the increase, we are in pro forma compliance with our financial covenants; (ii) no default or event of default has occurred and is continuing or would result from the increase; and (iii) the conditions precedent to a borrowing are satisfied as of such date. The revolving credit facility expires on March 9, 2010, at which time we will be required to repay all outstanding principal. Loans outstanding under the facility may be base rate loans or Eurodollar loans, at our election. Base rate loans accrue interest at a rate per annum equal to (i) an applicable margin plus (ii) the higher of (A) Citicorp’s base rate or (B) 0.5% plus the Federal Funds Rate. Eurodollar loans accrue interest at a rate per annum equal to (i) an applicable margin plus (ii) the reserve-adjusted Eurodollar base rate for the interest period. Applicable margins will be adjusted based on the

ratio of our liabilities (net of our unrestricted cash in excess of $10 million) to our adjusted tangible net worth or our senior debt rating. The revolving credit facility requires us to maintain specified financial ratios regarding leverage, interest coverage, adjusted tangible net worth and certain operational measurements. The revolving credit facility also places certain restrictions on, among other things, our ability to pay or make dividends or other distributions, create or permit certain liens, make investments in joint ventures, enter into transactions with affiliates and merge or consolidate with other entities. Our obligations under the revolving credit facility are guaranteed by our material domestic subsidiaries, other than our mortgage and title subsidiaries (unrestricted subsidiaries). As of December 31, 2005, we had $65.0 million outstanding under our prior revolving credit facility, and had issued letters of credit totaling $218.9 million. As of March 9, 2006, we had $323.0 million outstanding under our new revolving credit facility, and had issued letters of credit totaling $244.6 million. Therefore, as of March 9, 2006, we had $232.4 million remaining in availability under the new revolving credit facility, all of which we could have borrowed without violating any of our debt covenants.

 

Our mortgage subsidiary has the ability to borrow up to $200.0 million under two warehouse lines of credit to fund the origination of residential mortgage loans. The primary revolving warehouse line of credit (the “Primary Warehouse Line of Credit”) provides for revolving loans of up to $150.0 million. The Primary Warehouse Line of Credit expires on December 8, 2006. The Primary Warehouse Line of Credit bears interest at the 30 day LIBOR rate plus a margin of 1.125% to 3.0%, except for certain specialty mortgage loans, determined based upon the type of mortgage loans being financed. The Primary Warehouse Line of Credit also places certain restrictions on, among other things, our mortgage subsidiary’s ability to incur additional debt, create liens, pay or make dividends or other distributions, make equity investments, enter into transactions with affiliates, and merge or consolidate with other entities.

 

Our mortgage subsidiary’s other warehouse line of credit (the “Secondary Warehouse Line of Credit”) is comprised of (1) a credit facility providing for revolving loans of up to $30.0 million, subject to meeting borrowing base requirements based on the value of collateral provided, and (2) a recently added mortgage loan purchase and sale agreement which provides for the purchase by the lender of up to $20.0 million in mortgage loans generated by our mortgage subsidiary. At no time may the amount outstanding under this Secondary Warehouse Line of Credit plus the amount of purchased loans pursuant to the purchase and sale agreement exceed $50.0 million. The Secondary Warehouse Line of Credit is used to fund the origination of residential mortgage loans in addition to the Primary Warehouse Line of Credit. The Secondary Warehouse Line of Credit bears interest at the 30 day LIBOR rate plus a margin of 1.125% and expires February 11, 2007.

 

Both lines of credit are secured by funded mortgages, which are pledged as collateral, and require our mortgage subsidiary to maintain certain financial ratios and minimums. At December 31, 2005, we had $35.1 million in borrowings under our mortgage subsidiary’s warehouse lines of credit.

 

We believe that we have adequate financial resources, including unrestricted cash, availability under our current revolving credit facility and the warehouse lines of credit, and relationships with financial partners to meet our current and anticipated working capital, land acquisition and development needs and our estimated consolidated annual debt service payments of $76.5 million (at December 31, 2005, based on the outstanding balances and interest rates as of such date). However, there can be no assurance that the amounts available from such sources will be sufficient. If we identify new acquisition opportunities, or if our operations do not generate sufficient cash from operations at levels currently anticipated, we may seek additional debt or equity financing to operate or expand our business.

 

At December 31, 2005, the amount of our annual debt service payments was $76.5 million. This amount included annual debt service payments on the senior and senior subordinated notes of $70.6 million and interest payments on the revolving credit facility, the warehouse lines of credit, and other notes of $5.9 million based on the balances outstanding as of December 31, 2005. The amount of our annual debt service payments on the revolving credit facility fluctuates based on the principal outstanding under the facility and the interest rate. An increase or decrease of 1% in interest rates will change our annual debt service payment by $1.0 million per year.

The following summarizes our significant contractual obligations and commitments as of December 31, 2005 (dollars in millions):

 

 

 

 

Off Balance Sheet Arrangements

 

Land and Homesite Option Contracts

 

We enter into land and homesite option contracts to procure land or homesites for the construction of homes. Option contracts generally require the payment of cash or the posting of a letter of credit for the right to acquire land or homesites during a specified period of time at a certain price. Option contracts allow us to control significant homesite positions with a minimal capital investment and substantially reduce the risk associated with land ownership and development. At December 31, 2005, we had refundable and non-refundable deposits of $218.5 million and had issued letters of credit of approximately $186.9 million associated with our option contracts. The financial exposure for nonperformance on our part in these transactions generally is limited to our deposits and/or letters of credit.

 

Additionally, at December 31, 2005, we had performance / surety bonds outstanding of approximately $265.7 million and letters of credit outstanding of approximately $32.0 million primarily related to land development activities.

 

Investments in Unconsolidated Joint Ventures

 

We have entered, and expect to continue to enter, into joint ventures that acquire and develop land for our Homebuilding operations and/or that also build and market homes for sale to third parties. Through joint ventures, we reduce and share our risk associated with land ownership and development and extend our capital resources. Our partners in these joint ventures generally are unrelated homebuilders, land sellers, financial investors or other real estate entities. In joint ventures where the assets are being financed with debt, the borrowings are non-recourse to us except that we have agreed to complete certain property development commitments in the event the joint ventures default and to indemnify the lenders for losses resulting from fraud, misappropriation and similar acts. At December 31, 2005, we had investments in unconsolidated joint ventures of $254.5 million. We account for these investments under the equity method of accounting. These

unconsolidated joint ventures are limited liability companies or limited partnerships in which we have a limited partnership interest and a minority interest in the general partner. At December 31, 2005, we had receivables of $60.5 million from these joint ventures due to loans and advances, unpaid management fees and other items. The debt covenants under our new revolving credit facility contain limitations on the amount of our direct cash investments in joint ventures.

 

We believe that the use of off-balance sheet arrangements enables us to acquire rights in land which we may not have otherwise been able to acquire at favorable terms. As a result, we view the use of off-balance sheet arrangements as beneficial to our Homebuilding activities.

 

Dividends

 

We paid aggregate cash dividends of $0.057 per share of common stock during the year ended December 31, 2005 and $0.036 per share of common stock during the year ended December 31, 2004. We did not declare or pay any dividends during the year ended December 31, 2003.

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

In December 2004, the FASB issued SFAS No. 123(R), Share Based Payment. SFAS No. 123(R) establishes accounting standards for transactions in which a company exchanges its equity instruments for goods or services. In particular, this Statement requires companies to record compensation expense for all share-based payments, such as employee stock options, at fair market value. This Statement is effective as of the beginning of the first annual reporting period that begins after June 15, 2005. As a result, beginning January 1, 2006, we will adopt SFAS 123(R) and begin reflecting the stock option expense determined under fair value based methods in our income statement rather than as pro forma disclosure in the notes to the financial statements. We expect the effect of adopting SFAS 123(R) to be similar to the effect represented in our proforma disclosure related to SFAS 123.

 

On March 9, 2004, the SEC issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 105, “Application of Accounting Principles to Loan Commitments” (“SAB No. 105”), which provides guidance regarding interest rate lock commitments (IRLCs) that are accounted for as derivative instruments under Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 133, “Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities” (“SFAS No. 133”). In SAB No. 105, the Commission stated that the value of expected future cash flows related to servicing rights and other intangible components should be excluded when determining the fair value of the derivative IRLCs and such value should not be recognized until the underlying loans are sold. This guidance must be applied to IRLCs initiated after March 31, 2004. Our IRLCs were directly offset by forward trades; accordingly, the implementation of SAB No. 105 did not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

 

On June 29, 2005, the Emerging Issues Task Force (“EITF”) reached a consensus on Issue No. 04-5, Determining Whether a General Partner, or General Partners as a Group, Controls a Limited Partnership or Similar Entity When the Limited Partners Have Certain Rights (“EITF 04-5”). The scope of EITF 04-5 is limited to limited partnerships or similar entities (such as limited liability companies that have governing provisions that are the functional equivalent of a limited partnership) that are not VIEs under FIN 46(R) and provides a new framework for addressing when a general partner in a limited partnership, or managing member in the case of a limited liability company, controls the entity. EITF 04-5 is effective after June 29, 2005 for new entities formed after such date and for existing entities for which agreements are subsequently modified and is effective for us on January 1, 2006 for all other entities. We do not anticipate that the adoption of EITF 04-5 with respect to our agreements entered into prior to June 29, 2005 will have a material effect on our consolidated financial statements.

 

Seasonality of Operations

 

The homebuilding industry tends to be seasonal, as generally there are more homes sold in the spring and summer months when the weather is milder, although the number of sales contracts for new homes is highly dependent on the number of active communities and the timing of new community openings. Because new

home deliveries trail new home contracts by a number of months, we typically have the greatest percentage of home deliveries in the fall and winter, and slow sales in the spring and summer months could negatively affect our full year results. We operate primarily in the Southwest and Southeast, where weather conditions are more suitable to a year-round construction process than in other parts of the country. Our operations in Florida and Texas are at risk of repeated and potentially prolonged disruptions during the Atlantic hurricane season, which lasts from June 1 until November 30.

 

 

As a result of the senior and senior subordinated notes offerings, $810.0 million of our outstanding borrowings are based on fixed interest rates. We are exposed to market risk primarily related to potential adverse changes in interest rates on our warehouse lines of credit and revolving credit facility. The interest rates relative to these borrowings fluctuate with the prime, Federal Funds, LIBOR, and Eurodollar lending rates. We have not entered into derivative financial instruments for trading or speculative purposes. As of December 31, 2005, we had an aggregate of approximately $100.1 million drawn under our revolving credit facility and warehouse lines of credit that are subject to changes in interest rates. An increase or decrease of 1% in interest rates will change our annual debt service payments by $1.0 million per year as a result of our bank loan arrangements that are subject to changes in interest rates.

 

The following table presents the future principal payment obligations and weighted average interest rates associated with our long-term debt instruments assuming our actual level of long-term debt indebtedness as of December 31, 2005:

 

Expected Maturity Date
(In millions)

 

 

Our operations are interest rate sensitive as overall housing demand is adversely affected by increases in interest rates. If mortgage interest rates increase significantly, this may negatively affect the ability of homebuyers to secure adequate financing. Higher interest rates also increase our borrowing costs because, as indicated above, our bank loans will fluctuate with the prime, Federal Funds, LIBOR, and Eurodollar lending rates.

 

We may be adversely affected during periods of high inflation, primarily because of higher land and construction costs. In addition, inflation may result in higher interest rates. This may significantly affect the affordability of permanent mortgage financing for prospective purchasers, which in turn adversely affects overall housing demand. In addition, this may increase our interest costs. We attempt to pass through to our customers any increases in our costs through increased selling prices and, to date, inflation has not had a material adverse effect on our results of operations. However, there is no assurance that inflation will not have a material adverse impact on our future results of operations.

 

Financial statements and supplementary data for us are on pages F-1 through F-38.

 

 

None.

 

 

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

 

To ensure that the information we must disclose in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported on a timely basis, we have formalized our disclosure controls and procedures. Our principal executive officer and principal financial officer have reviewed and evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures, as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e), as of December 31, 2005. Based on such evaluation, such officers have concluded that, as of December 31, 2005, our disclosure controls and procedures were effective. There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2005 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

 

Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting

 

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting is included on page F-2 of this Form 10-K. Our management’s assessment of the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2005 has been audited by Ernst &Young LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as stated in their attestation report which is included on page F-3 of this Form 10-K.

 

Item 9B.  Other Information

 

On March 9, 2006, we entered into a new unsecured credit facility with Citicorp North America, Inc., as agent for the participating banks, replacing our previous $600.0 million revolving credit facility. Our new revolving credit facility is substantially similar to our prior revolving credit facility and permits us to borrow up to the lesser of (i) $800.0 million or (ii) our borrowing base (calculated in accordance with the revolving credit facility agreement) minus our outstanding senior debt. The facility has a letter of credit subfacility of $400.0 million. In addition, we have the right to increase the size of the facility to provide up to an additional $150.0 million of revolving loans, provided we give 10 business days’ notice of our intention to increase the size of the facility and we meet the following conditions: (i) at the time of and after giving effect to the increase, we are in pro forma compliance with our financial covenants; (ii) no default or event of default has occurred and is continuing or would result from the increase, and (iii) the conditions precedent to a borrowing are satisfied as of such date. The revolving credit facility expires on March 9, 2010, at which time we will be required to repay all outstanding principal. Loans outstanding under the facility may be base rate loans or Eurodollar loans, at our election. Base rate loans accrue interest at a rate per annum equal to (i) an applicable margin plus (ii) the higher of (A) Citicorp’s base rate or (B) 0.5% plus the Federal Funds Rate. Eurodollar loans accrue interest at a rate per annum equal to (i) an applicable margin plus (ii) the reserve-adjusted Eurodollar base rate for the interest period. Applicable margins will be adjusted based on the ratio of our liabilities (net of our unrestricted cash in excess of $10 million) to our adjusted tangible net worth or our senior debt rating. The revolving credit facility requires us to maintain specified financial ratios regarding leverage, interest coverage, adjusted tangible net worth and certain operational measurements. The revolving credit facility also places certain restrictions on, among other things, our ability to pay or make dividends or other distributions, create or permit certain liens, make investments in joint ventures, enter into transactions with affiliates and merge or consolidate with other entities. Our obligations under the revolving credit facility are guaranteed by our material domestic subsidiaries, other than our mortgage and title subsidiaries (unrestricted subsidiaries).

The Company and its affiliates do not have any material relationship with any of the lenders under our new revolving credit facility, other than as disclosed below. Citicorp North America, Inc. was a lender under our prior revolving credit facility. Deutsche Bank Securities, Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, N.A., and KeyBank National Association were each lenders under our prior revolving credit facility and currently participate in the credit facilities of three of our unconsolidated joint ventures. Guaranty Bank, the lender under the Secondary Warehouse Line of Credit, participated in our prior revolving credit facility and currently participates in the credit facility of one of our unconsolidated joint ventures.

 

PART III

 

 

We have adopted a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics that applies to our Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Corporate Controller. The Code of Business Conduct and Ethics is located on our internet web site at www.tousa.com under “Investor Information — Corporate Governance” and is available in print free of charge to any stockholder who submits a written request for such document to Technical Olympic USA, Inc., Attn: Investor Relations, 4000 Hollywood Blvd., Suite 500 N, Hollywood, Florida 33021.

 

On May 13, 2005, we submitted to the New York Stock Exchange an “Annual CEO Certification,” signed by our Chief Executive Officer, certifying that our Chief Executive Officer was not aware of any violation by the Company of the New York Stock Exchange’s corporate governance listing standards. Additionally, we have filed as exhibits to this Form 10-K the CEO/CFO Certifications required under Section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

 

The remainder of the items required by Part III, Item 10 are incorporated herein by reference from the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for its 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed on or before April 30, 2006.

 

 

The items required by Part III, Item 11 are incorporated herein by reference from the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for its 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed on or before April 30, 2006.

 

 

The items required by Part III, Item 12 are incorporated herein by reference from the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for its 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed on or before April 30, 2006.

 

 

The items required by Part III, Item 13 are incorporated herein by reference from the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for its 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed on or before April 30, 2006.

 

 

The items required by Part III, Item 14 are incorporated herein by reference from the Registrant’s Proxy Statement for its 2006 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed on or before April 30, 2006.

PART IV

 

 

Documents filed as part of this report:

 

(1) Financial Statements

 

See “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” for Financial Statements included with this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

 

(2) Financial Statement Schedules

 

None.

 

(3) Exhibits

 

 

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

Technical Olympic USA, Inc.

 

Antonio B. Mon

President and Chief Executive Officer

 

Date: March 9, 2006