Forestar Group Inc. Reports Full Year and Fourth Quarter 2009 Results

AUSTIN, Texas--()--Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE: FOR) today reported full year 2009 net income of $59.1 million, or $1.64 per diluted share, compared with full year 2008 net income of $12.0 million, or $0.33 per diluted share. Full year 2009 results include the sale of about 95,000 acres of timberland for approximately $160 million. The company reported a fourth quarter 2009 net loss of ($7.4) million, or ($0.20) per diluted share, compared with net income of $1.7 million, or $0.05 per diluted share in fourth quarter 2008.

“Excluding our contributions to the resort at Cibolo Canyons, full year 2009 investment in development was down 78% compared with full year 2008”

“Our 2009 results reflect the execution of our strategic initiatives,” said Jim DeCosmo, president and chief executive officer of Forestar Group. “Principally due to the efforts of our team in executing our near-term strategic initiatives, we generated approximately $130 million in positive net cash flow during 2009 compared with the use of about ($70) million in 2008.”

Mr. DeCosmo noted that the company’s 2009 value creation activities included:

  • Selling about 95,000 acres of timberland for approximately $160 million
  • Reducing cash used for real estate development and lowering costs almost $68 million in 2009 compared with 2008
  • Receiving $24.9 million in reimbursements from special public improvement districts
  • Leasing over 25,800 net mineral acres to oil and gas companies for exploration and production activities
  • Investing approximately $19 million in the resort and real estate development at our Cibolo Canyons mixed-use project located in San Antonio, Texas. Forestar will receive revenues related to hotel occupancy and sales taxes through 2034 from the 1,002 room J.W. Marriott hotel and golf resort (which opened January 22, 2010).

“As a result of 2009 value creation activities listed above, we have reduced total debt over $121 million or 35% since year-end 2008, significantly improving liquidity and financial flexibility, positioning Forestar for future growth opportunities. We remain committed to our strategy of maximizing long-term shareholder value,” added Mr. DeCosmo.

Forestar Group manages its operations through three business segments:

  • Real estate,
  • Mineral resources, and
  • Fiber resources

At the end of 2009, our real estate segment includes over 251,000 acres of land owned directly or through ventures located in nine states and twelve markets. Mineral resources include about 620,000 net acres of oil and gas mineral interests located principally in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia. Also included in the segment is a 45% nonparticipating royalty interest in groundwater produced or withdrawn for commercial purposes from approximately 1.38 million acres in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Alabama. Fiber resources includes the sale of wood fiber and management of our recreational leases.

REAL ESTATE

   

Quarterly Results

     

Full Year Results

($ in Millions)

4th Qtr.

2009

   

4th Qtr.

2008

   

3rd Qtr.

2009

2009

   

2008

Segment Earnings     ($2.5)     $3.0     $0.1       $3.2     $9.1

Fourth quarter 2009 real estate segment earnings were negatively impacted by impairment charges of $2.7 million primarily associated with a condominium project located in Austin, Texas, and a $3.6 million charge for environmental remediation activities at our San Joaquin River project located near Antioch, California.

Full year 2009 real estate segment earnings were negatively impacted by impairment charges of $10.6 million, principally related to a condominium project located near Austin, TX, a venture investment in a project located near Atlanta, Georgia, and two joint venture projects located in Tampa, Florida. In addition, full year 2009 real estate segment earnings include a $3.6 million charge for environmental remediation activities as mentioned above.

   

Fourth Quarter 2009
Real Estate Sales Activity

Q4 2009

   

Q4 2008

Sales     Price Sales     Price
Undeveloped Land* 3,240 acres     $3,100 / acre 2,436 acres     $4,600 / acre
Residential Lots* 202 lots $45,000 / lot 259 lots $37,600 / lot
Commercial Acres*     0.3 acres     $87,000 / acre     28 acres     $265,900 / acre

* Includes venture activity

Including venture activity, over 3,200 acres of undeveloped land were sold during fourth quarter 2009 at an average sales price of approximately $3,100 per acre.

Residential sales activity for all wholly and partially-owned projects during fourth quarter 2009 included the sale of 202 lots at an average price of approximately $45,000 per lot.

   

Full Year 2009
Real Estate Sales Activity

Full Year 2009

   

Full Year 2008

Sales     Price Sales     Price
Undeveloped Land* 18,200 acres     $2,600 / acre 6,100 acres     $4,800 / acre
Residential Lots* 642 lots $55,200 / lot 1,060 lots $48,500 / lot
Commercial Acres*     6 acres     $263,800 / acre     120 acres     $232,400 / acre

* Includes venture activity

Including venture activity, about 18,200 acres of undeveloped land were sold during 2009 at an average sales price of approximately $2,600 per acre.

Residential sales activity for all wholly and partially-owned projects during 2009 included the sale of 642 residential lots at an average price of approximately $55,200 per lot.

Commercial activity for all wholly and partially-owned projects during 2009 included the sale of six acres at an average price of approximately $263,800 per acre.

Real Estate Pipeline

At year-end 2009, Forestar’s real estate segment includes over 251,000 acres of land owned directly or through ventures located in nine states and twelve markets.

   

YE 2009 Real Estate Pipeline

Real Estate Undeveloped    

In
Entitlement
Process

    Entitled    

Developed &
Under
Development

 

Total
Acres*

 
Undeveloped Land
Owned 196,817 203,580
Ventures 6,763
 
Residential
Owned 26,868 7,790 636 41,706
Ventures 1,080 4,297 1,035
 
Commercial
Owned 3,502 1,056 520 5,849
Ventures - 517 254
 
Total Acres

203,580

31,450

13,660

2,445

251,135

                             
Estimated Residential Lots           25,416     3,731   29,147

* Total acres excludes Forestar’s 58% ownership interest in the Ironstob, LLC venture which controls approximately 16,000 acres of undeveloped land located in Georgia.

Entitlement Activity

Forestar has 21 real estate projects representing about 31,450 acres in the entitlement process, including ventures.

Including venture activity, Forestar has over 13,600 acres of entitled land, representing over 25,400 residential lots and over 1,500 commercial acres.

Development and Investment Activity

During 2009 the company invested approximately $33.8 million in real estate development activity, compared with about $99.2 million in 2008. “Excluding our contributions to the resort at Cibolo Canyons, full year 2009 investment in development was down 78% compared with full year 2008,” added Mr. DeCosmo.

Investment in Real Estate Development

($ in millions)

   

2009

   

2008

   

Reduction

Investment in Development $33.8 $99.2
Contribution to Resort at Cibolo Canyons

($16.2)

($18.3)

Net Investment in Development

$17.6

$80.9 (78%)

“During 2009, our investment activity related primarily to our contractual commitments to the resort at Cibolo Canyons, and our remaining investment in development was located principally in the major markets of Texas, where we continue to generate sales activity,” said Mr. DeCosmo.

MINERAL RESOURCES

   

Quarterly Results

   

Full Year Results

Segment Earnings

4th Qtr.

2009

   

4th Qtr.

2008

   

3rd Qtr.

2009

2009

   

2008

($ in Millions)     $3.3     $6.1     $17.8     $32.4     $44.1

Full year 2009 mineral resources segment earnings include $21.3 million in lease bonus payments associated with leasing over 25,800 net mineral acres. Full year 2008 mineral resources revenues include $24.9 million in bonus payments associated with leasing over 61,500 net mineral acres.

   

Mineral Activity
Fourth Quarter 2009

 

Revenues

   

Activity*

   
 
Royalties $3.5 million Natural Gas Production (MMCF) 586.5
Average Price / MCF $3.15
Oil Production (Barrels) 30,800
Average Price / Barrel $66.62
 
Other Lease Revenues

$1.0 million

Acres Leased 720
Bonus / Acre $662
 
Total Revenues     $4.5 million     Active Wells     472

* Includes venture activity

During fourth quarter 2009, including venture activity, over 700 net mineral acres were leased, and our share of oil and gas production related to our royalty interests was about 30,800 barrels of oil and approximately 586.5 MMCF of natural gas.

   

Mineral Activity
Full Year 2009

       

Revenues

Activity*

 
Royalties $11.9 million Natural Gas Production (MMCF) 1,575.8
Average Price / MCF $4.09
Oil Production (Barrels) 107,200
Average Price / Barrel $56.86
 
Other Lease Revenues

$24.4 million

Acres Leased 25,800
Bonus / Acre $827
 
Total Revenues     $36.3 million     Active Wells (YE 2009)     472

* Includes venture activity

For the year 2009, including venture activity, about 25,800 net mineral acres were leased, generating $21.3 million in bonus revenues. This leasing activity was located principally in East Texas and driven by activity associated with the Cotton Valley, James Lime, Haynesville and Deep Bossier natural gas formations. In addition, approximately $2.5 million in delay rental payments were received in 2009.

For the year 2009, our share of oil and gas production related to our royalty interests was approximately 107,200 barrels of oil and 1,575.8 MMCF of natural gas.

Minerals Activity

Forestar’s mineral resources segment includes approximately 620,000 net mineral acres principally located in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Georgia.

   

YE 2009 Minerals Ownership1

           
State

Available
for Lease

Leased

Held by
Production

Total2
Texas 130,000 103,000 20,000 253,000
Louisiana 129,000 8,000 7,000 144,000
Alabama 40,000 2,000 - 42,000
Georgia 180,000 - - 180,000
California 1,000 - - 1,000
      480,000     113,000     27,000     620,000

1 Includes ventures

2 Excludes 481 net mineral acres located in Colorado

FIBER RESOURCES

   

Quarterly Results

 

Full Year Results

Segment Earnings

4th Qtr.

2009

   

4th Qtr.

2008

   

3rd Qtr.

2009

2009

   

2008

($ in Millions)     $1.4     $2.7     $2.1   $9.6     $8.9

Fiber Sales Activity

During fourth quarter 2009 Forestar generated almost $2.2 million in revenues from the sale of nearly 200 thousand tons of fiber. In 2009, Forestar generated about $13.5 million in revenues from the sale of over 1.1 million tons of fiber, the majority of which was sold to Temple-Inland Inc. at market prices.

2009 Summary

“Forestar has made significant progress executing our strategy and near-term strategic initiatives despite challenging economic conditions. During 2009 we sold approximately 113,000 acres of timberland for about $207 million, and reduced total debt by over 35%. In addition, we reduced investment in real estate development and lowered costs by almost $68 million in 2009 compared with 2008. We remain focused on investing in projects where market conditions support sales activity. Also, we continue to lower costs. Principally due to the efforts of our team in executing our near-term strategic initiatives, we generated approximately $130 million in positive net cash flow in 2009, compared with the use of about ($70) million in 2008. As a result, we have transformed the balance sheet, significantly improving liquidity and financial flexibility, positioning Forestar for the future,” concluded Mr. DeCosmo.

The Company will host a conference call on February 3, 2010 at 9:00 a.m. EST to discuss results of fourth quarter and full year 2009. The meeting may be accessed through webcast or by conference call. The webcast may be accessed through Forestar’s Internet site at www.forestargroup.com. To access the conference call, listeners calling from North America should dial 1-866-277-1181 at least 15 minutes prior to the start of the meeting. Those wishing to access the call from outside North America should dial 1-617-597-5358. The password is Forestar. Replays of the call will be available for two weeks following completion of the live call and can be accessed at 1-888-286-8010 in North America and at 1-617-801-6888 outside North America. The password for the replay is 80932686.

About Forestar Group

Forestar Group Inc. operates in three business segments: real estate, mineral resources and fiber resources. The real estate segment owns directly or through ventures over 251,000 acres of real estate located in nine states and twelve markets in the U.S. The real estate segment has 21 real estate projects representing over 31,450 acres currently in the entitlement process, and 75 entitled, developed and under development projects in seven states and eleven markets encompassing over 16,100 acres, comprised of over 29,100 residential lots and over 2,300 commercial acres. The mineral resources segment manages about 620,000 net acres of oil and gas mineral interests. The fiber resources segment includes the sale of wood fiber and management of our recreational leases. The company also has a 45% nonparticipating royalty interest in groundwater produced or withdrawn for commercial purposes from approximately 1.38 million acres in Texas, Louisiana, Georgia and Alabama. Forestar’s address on the World Wide Web is www.forestargroup.com.

Forward-looking Statements

This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These statements reflect management’s current views with respect to future events and are subject to risk and uncertainties. We note that a variety of factors and uncertainties could cause our actual results to differ significantly from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors and uncertainties that might cause such differences include, but are not limited to: general economic, market, or business conditions; the availability of loans and fluctuations in the credit markets; the opportunities (or lack thereof) that may be presented to us and that we may pursue; fluctuations in costs and expenses including development costs; demand for new housing, including impacts from mortgage credit availability; lengthy and uncertain entitlement processes; cyclicality of our businesses; accuracy of accounting assumptions; competitive actions by other companies; changes in laws or regulations; changes in federal energy policies; demand for oil and gas; and other factors, many of which are beyond our control. Except as required by law, we expressly disclaim any obligation to publicly revise any forward-looking statements contained in this news release to reflect the occurrence of events after the date of this release.

FORESTAR GROUP INC.

(UNAUDITED)

Business Segments

   

 

 

Fourth Quarter

 

 

Full Year

 

2009

2008

 

2009

 

2008

(In thousands,

except per share)

(In thousands,

except per share)

Revenues

Real estate $ 24,281 $ 25,368 $ 94,436 $ 98,859
Mineral resources 4,489 7,478 36,256 47,671
Fiber resources 2,631   4,113 15,559     13,192
Total revenues $ 31,401 $ 36,959 $ 146,251 $ 159,722

 

Segment earnings

Real estate $ (2,459) $ 3,002 $ 3,182 $ 9,075
Mineral resources 3,337 6,142 32,370 44,076
Fiber resources 1,343   2,707 9,622     8,896
Total segment earnings 2,221 11,851 45,174 62,047
Expenses not allocated to segments
General and administrative (a) (4,649) (4,510) (22,399) (19,318)
Share-based compensation (4,281) 142 (11,998) (4,516)
Gain on sales of assets - - 104,047 -
Interest expense (4,806) (5,536) (20,459) (21,283)
Other non-operating income (7)   46 375     279
Income before taxes (11,522) 1,993 94,740 17,209
Income tax expense 4,128   (249) (35,633)     (5,235)
Net income(loss)attributable to Forestar Group Inc. $ (7,394) $ 1,744 $ 59,107   $ 11,974

 

Diluted earnings per share:

Net income $ (0.20) $ 0.05 $ 1.64   $ 0.33
 
Average diluted shares outstanding 36.5 35.6 36.1 35.9
(shares in millions)

 

  Year End

Supplemental Financial Information

2009     2008
(In thousands)
 
Borrowings under credit facility $ 125,000 $ 234,900
Other debt (b) 91,626     102,502
Total Debt $ 216,626   $ 337,402

(a) 2009 general and administrative costs include approximately $3.2 million paid to outside advisors regarding an evaluation by our Board of Directors of an unsolicited shareholder proposal and $2.2 million impairment charge associated with our undivided interest in corporate aircraft contributed to us by Temple-Inland prior to spin-off.

(b) Consists principally of consolidated venture non-recourse debt.

Information about our real estate projects and our real estate ventures for year-end 2009 and 2008 follows:

 

Year End

2009

 

2008

Owned & consolidated ventures:
Entitled, developed and under development projects
Number of projects 54 57
Residential lots remaining 20,186 20,561
Commercial acres remaining 1,702 1,624
Undeveloped land and land in the entitlement process
Number of projects 19 23
Acres in entitlement process 30,370 32,640
Acres undeveloped (a) 198,063 309,232
Ventures accounted for using the equity method:
Ventures’ lot sales (for the year)
Lots sold 159 248
Average price per lot sold $ 60,589 $ 57,750
Ventures’ entitled, developed, and under development projects
Number of projects 21 21
Residential lots remaining 8,961 9,348
Commercial acres sold (for the year) 4 65
Average price per acre sold $ 188,144 $ 280,609
Commercial acres remaining 645 648
Ventures’ undeveloped land and land in the entitlement process
Number of projects 2 2
Acres in entitlement process 1,080 1,080
Acres sold (for the year) 1 486
Average price per acre sold $ 10,000 $ 6,306
Acres undeveloped 5,517 5,641

(a) Includes 74,000 acres classified as held for sale.

A summary of our real estate projects in the entitlement process (a) at year-end 2009 follows:

         

Project

Acres(b)

Project

County

 

California

Hidden Creek Estates Los Angeles 700
Terrace at Hidden Hills Los Angeles 30
 

Georgia

Ball Ground Cherokee 500
Burt Creek Dawson 970
Crossing Coweta 230
Dallas Highway Haralson 1,060
Fincher Road Cherokee 3,890
Fox Hall Coweta 960
Garland Mountain Cherokee/Bartow 350
Home Place Coweta 1,510
Jackson Park Jackson 700
Martin’s Bridge Banks 970
Mill Creek Coweta 770
Serenity Carroll 440
Waleska Cherokee 150
Wolf Creek Carroll/Douglas 12,230
Yellow Creek Cherokee 1,060

 

Texas

Lake Houston Harris/Liberty 3,700
San Jacinto Montgomery 150
Entrada(c) Travis 240

Woodlake Village(c)

Montgomery 840
 

Total

31,450

(a) A project is deemed to be in the entitlement process when customary steps necessary for the preparation and submittal of an application, like conducting pre-application meetings or similar discussions with governmental officials, have commenced, or an application has been filed. Projects listed may have significant steps remaining, and there is no assurance that entitlements ultimately will be received.

(b) Project acres, which are the total for the project regardless of our ownership interest, are approximate. The actual number of acres entitled may vary.

(c) We own a 50% interest in these projects.

A summary of activity within our entitled, (a) developed and under development projects at year-end 2009 follows:

 

Residential Lots (c)

 

Commercial Acres (d)

   

Project

County

Interest
Owned (b)

Lots Sold
Since
Inception

Lots
Remaining

Acres Sold
Since
Inception

Acres
Remaining

 
Projects we own

California

San Joaquin River

Contra
Costa/Sacramento

100% - - - 288

Colorado

Buffalo Highlands Weld 100% - 164 - -
Johnstown Farms Weld 100% 115 493 2 8
Pinery West Douglas 100% - - - 115
Stonebraker Weld 100% - 603 - 13
Westlake Highlands Jefferson 100% 6 15 - -
 

Texas

Arrowhead Ranch Hays 100% - 232 - 6
Caruth Lakes Rockwall 100% 279 370 - -
Cibolo Canyons Bexar 100% 590 1,157 64 81
Harbor Lakes Hood 100% 199 250 - 14
Harbor Mist Calhoun 100% - 200 - -
Hunter’s Crossing Bastrop 100% 322 169 38 68
La Conterra Williamson 100% 60 449 - 60
Maxwell Creek Collin 100% 672 339 10 -
Oak Creek Estates Comal 100% 67 581 13 -
The Colony Bastrop 100% 410 2,242 22 49
The Gables at North Hill Collin 100% 195 88 - -
The Preserve at Pecan Creek Denton 100% 264 554 - 9
The Ridge at Ribelin Ranch Travis 100% - - 179 16
Westside at Buttercup Creek Williamson 100% 1,290 231 66 -
Other projects (7) Various 100% 1,550 19 197 23

Georgia

Towne West Bartow 100% - 2,674 - 121
Other projects (14) Various 100% - 2,934 - 705

Missouri and Utah

Other projects (2) Various 100% 443 321 - -
6,462 14,085 591 1,576
Projects in entities we consolidate

 

Texas

City Park Harris 75% 1,099 212 50 105
Lantana Denton 55% (e) 498 1,802 - -
Light Farms Collin 65% - 2,517 - -
Stoney Creek Dallas 90% 69 685 - -
Timber Creek Collin 88% - 614 - -
Other projects (5) Various Various 936   271   26   21
2,602 6,101 76 126
Total owned and consolidated 9,064 20,186 667 1,702
 
Projects in ventures that we account for using the equity method

 

Georgia

Seven Hills Paulding 50% 634 446 26 -
The Georgian Paulding 38% 288 1,097 - -
Other projects (5) Various Various 1,845 77 3 -
 

Texas

Bar C Ranch Tarrant 50% 192 1,007 - -
Fannin Farms West Tarrant 50% 279 101 - 15
Lantana Denton Various (e) 1,436 34 14 75
Long Meadow Farms Fort Bend 19% 607 1,499 72 138
Southern Trails Brazoria 40% 372 655 - -
Stonewall Estates Bexar 25% 220 161 - -
Summer Creek Ranch Tarrant 50% 796 1,772 - 363
Summer Lakes Fort Bend 50% 325 798 56 -
Village Park Collin 50% 339 221 3 2
Waterford Park Fort Bend 50% - 493 - 37
Other projects (2) Various Various 296 228 - 15

 

Florida

Other projects (3) Various Various 473 372 - -
Total in ventures 8,102 8,961 174 645

Combined Total

17,166 29,147 841 2,347

(a) A project is deemed entitled when all major discretionary land-use approvals have been received. Some projects may require additional permits for development.

(b) Interest owned reflects our net equity interest in the project, whether owned directly or indirectly. There are some projects that have multiple ownership structures within them. Accordingly, portions of these projects may appear as owned, consolidated and/or accounted for using the equity method.

(c) Lots are for the total project, regardless of our ownership interest.

(d) Commercial acres are for the total project, regardless of our ownership interest and are net developable acres, which may be fewer than the gross acres available in the project.

(e) The Lantana project consists of a series of 15 partnerships in which our voting interests range from 25% to 55%. We account for three of these partnerships using the equity method and we consolidate the remaining partnerships.

A summary of our commercial and income producing properties at year-end 2009 follows:

                   

Interest
Owned (a)

Project     County     Market         Type     Description
Radisson Hotel Travis Austin 100% Hotel 413 guest rooms and suites
Palisades West Travis Austin 25% Office 375,000 square feet
Las Brisas Williamson Austin 49% Multi-Family 414 unit luxury apartment
Harbor Lakes Golf Club Hood Dallas/Fort Worth 100% Golf Club 18-hole golf course and club
Gulf Coast Apartments Various Various 2% Multi-Family 9 apartment communities
 
 
(a) Interest owned reflects our net equity interest in the project, whether owned directly or indirectly.

Contacts

Forestar Group Inc.
Chris L. Nines, 512-433-5210

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