Tri Pointe Homes, Inc. (NYSE: TPH) reported Q1 EPS of $0.00, $0.02 worse than the analyst estimate of $0.02. Revenue for the quarter came in at $492.7 million versus the consensus estimate of $471.65 million.

Results and Operational Data for First Quarter 2019 and Comparisons to First Quarter 2018

• Net income was $71,000, or $0.00 per diluted share, compared to $42.9 million, or $0.28 per diluted share
• Home sales revenue of $492.7 million compared to $582.6 million, a decrease of 15%— New home deliveries of 814 homes compared to 924 homes, a decrease of 12%— Average sales price of homes delivered of $605,000 compared to $630,000, a decrease of 4%
• Homebuilding gross margin percentage of 14.4% compared to 22.7%, a decrease of 830 basis points— Excluding interest and impairments and lot option abandonments, adjusted homebuilding gross margin percentage was 18.4%*
• SG&A expense as a percentage of homes sales revenue of 15.7% compared to 12.9%, an increase of 280 basis points
• New home orders of 1,321 compared to 1,496, a decrease of 12%
• Active selling communities averaged 147.8 compared to 129.8, an increase of 14%— New home orders per average selling community were 8.9 orders (3.0 monthly) compared to 11.5 orders (3.8 monthly)— Cancellation rate increased to 15% compared to 14%
• Backlog units at quarter end of 1,842 homes compared to 2,143, a decrease of 14%— Dollar value of backlog at quarter end of $1.2 billion compared to $1.4 billion, a decrease of 12%— Average sales price of homes in backlog at quarter end of $672,000 compared to $658,000, an increase of 2%
• Ratios of debt-to-capital and net debt-to-net capital of 40.7% and 38.1%*, respectively, as of March 31, 2019
• Executed a new $250 million term loan facility while extending the maturity date of our existing $600 million unsecured revolving credit facility, with both maturing on March 29, 2023
• Ended first quarter of 2019 with total liquidity of $967.6 million, including cash and cash equivalents of $148.8 million and $818.8 million of availability under the Company’s unsecured revolving credit facility and term loan facility

“New home demand rebounded nicely in the first quarter of 2019, as buyers responded positively to the decline in interest rates and a more competitive pricing environment,” said TRI Pointe Group Chief Executive Officer Doug Bauer. “TRI Pointe Group averaged 3.0 orders per community per month during the period, which represented a 44% improvement from the fourth quarter of 2018 and exceeded our internal projections. California continues to be an important market for TRI Pointe Group, and we saw encouraging results as we moved through the quarter with orders per community per month of 2.0, 3.5 and 3.9 for January, February and March, respectively. We are optimistic we can sustain this momentum as we head into the latter half of the spring selling season.”

Mr. Bauer continued, “We grew our quarter-end community count by 11% as compared to last year, giving us a solid platform from which to grow. The increase in community count was a combination of growth in our existing markets, expansion into new markets and the continued rollout of new projects from our long-dated California assets. We expect to leverage all three avenues for growth going forward as our business evolves.”

Mr. Bauer concluded, “I am pleased with our results in the first quarter. We feel confident in our full year gross margin guidance based on current margins in backlog of 23%, as well as delivering on our previous stated guidance of 4,600 to 5,000 deliveries for 2019.”

Business Outlook

For the second quarter of 2019, the Company expects to open 10 new communities and close out of 13 communities, which would result in 143 active selling communities as of June 30, 2019. In addition, the Company anticipates delivering 53% to 58% of its 1,842 homes in backlog as of March 31, 2019 at an average sales price of $610,000. The Company expects its homebuilding gross margin percentage to be approximately 17% for the second quarter. The Company anticipates its SG&A expense as a percentage of homes sales revenuewill be in a range of 12.5% to 13.5%. Lastly, the Company expects its effective tax rate to be in the range of 25% to 26%.

For the full year, the Company reiterates its previous guidance of delivering between 4,600 and 5,000 homes at an average sales price of $610,000 to $620,000. In addition, the Company expects homebuilding gross margin percentage to be in the range of 19% to 20% for the full year. The Company expects full year SG&A expense as a percentage of homes sales revenue will be in a range of 11% to 12%. Finally, the Company expects its effective tax rate for the full year to be in the range of 25% to 26%.

For earnings history and earnings-related data on Tri Pointe Homes, Inc. (TPH) click here.