Bluegreen Corporation Reports 2012 Second Quarter Financial Results

Q2 2012 Overview

  • Bluegreen Resorts (“Resorts”) system-wide sales of vacation ownership interests (“VOIs”) increased 21.6% to $96.2 million from $79.1 million in Q2 2011.
  • Sales of VOIs made on behalf of Resorts’ fee-based services clients, which are included in system-wide sales above, rose 46.2% to $39.4 million from $27.0 million in Q2 2011.
  • Income from continuing operations attributable to Bluegreen shareholders (defined as income from continuing operations after tax less net income attributable to non-controlling interest) rose 51.3% to $14.7 million, or $0.46 per diluted share, from $9.7 million, or $0.30 per diluted share, in Q2 2011.
  • Net income rose to $13.3 million, or $0.42 per diluted share, from a net loss of $26.7 million, or $0.83 per diluted share, in Q2 2011. Q2 2011 included a loss from discontinued operations of $36.4 million, or $1.13 per diluted share, related to the Bluegreen Communities division, which was sold on May 4, 2012.
  • Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents at June 30, 2012 of $65.5 million.

BOCA RATON, Fla.--()--Bluegreen Corporation (NYSE: BXG), a leading timeshare sales, marketing and resort management company, today announced financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

John M. Maloney Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of Bluegreen, commented, “Our strong performance continued in the 2012 second quarter, with growth in our traditional VOI business as well as our fee-based services business. We produced notable improvements in areas such as tours, transactions, and conversion rates, which we attribute to the quality and value of our offerings, a disciplined approach to marketing, and the commitment of our people. In addition, we continued to advance towards our goal of making our fee-based services business an increasing portion of our total business. Fee-based services represented approximately 41% and 35% of total system-wide VOI sales for the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, respectively, up from approximately 34% and 32%, respectively, in the same periods last year. Through the first half of 2012, we generated free cash flow of $89.8 million (including $27.8 million of proceeds from the sale of Bluegreen Communities) and reduced outstanding debt by approximately $95.0 million.”

Additional Q2 2012 operating highlights included:

  • In connection with its fee-based services business, Resorts sold $39.4 million of third-party VOIs in Q2 2012, generating sales and marketing commissions of approximately $25.7 million. This compares to sales of $27.0 million of third-party VOIs in Q2 2011, which generated sales and marketing commissions of $18.3 million.
  • Total revenues from fee-based services rose 25.2% to $44.6 million in Q2 2012 from $35.6 million in Q2 2011. Fee-based services contributed an estimated $15.6 million to Resorts operating profit in Q2 2012, compared to an estimated $12.7 million in Q2 2011. As of June 30, 2012, Bluegreen managed 46 timeshare resort properties and hotels compared to 45 as of June 30, 2011.

As previously disclosed, on November 11, 2011, Bluegreen entered into a definitive merger agreement with BFC Financial Corporation (“BFC”) pursuant to which, upon consummation of the merger, Bluegreen will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of BFC. The merger was approved by both Bluegreen and BFC’s shareholders on June 19, 2012. Under the terms of the merger agreement, holders of Bluegreen’s common stock (other than BFC) will be entitled to receive, in exchange for each share of Bluegreen common stock that they hold at the effective time of the merger, eight shares of BFC’s Class A Common Stock (as adjusted in connection with a reverse stock split expected to be effected by BFC immediately prior to the consummation of the merger). BFC and Bluegreen are working in good faith to satisfy the conditions required to consummate the merger prior to September 30, 2012. The consummation of the merger is subject to certain conditions, including the listing of BFC's Class A Common Stock on a national securities exchange. The transaction will close when all conditions in the merger agreement have been met. There is no assurance that the conditions for the consummation of the merger will be met or that the merger will be consummated.

BLUEGREEN RESORTS

Supplemental Financial Data and Reconciliation of System-Wide Sales of VOIs to GAAP Gross Sales of VOIs
Three and Six Months Ended June 30, 2012 and 2011
(In 000’s, except percentages) (Unaudited)

   
Three Months Ended June 30, 2012 Three Months Ended June 30, 2011
Traditional   Fee-Based     % of System- Traditional   Fee-Based     % of System-
Timeshare Services wide sales of Timeshare Services wide sales of
Business Business Total

VOIs, net (6)

Business Business Total

VOIs, net (6)

System-wide sales of VOI’s (1) $ 56,824 $ 39,393 $ 96,217 $ 52,198 $ 26,951 $

79,149

Change in sales deferred under timeshare accounting rules

  849     -     849     (788 )   -     (788 )
System-wide sales of VOIs, net (1) 57,673 39,393 97,066 100 % 51,410 26,951 78,361 100 %
Less: Sales of third-party VOIs   -     (39,393 )   (39,393 ) (41 )   -     (26,951 )   (26,951 ) (34 )
Gross sales of VOIs 57,673 - 57,673 59 51,410 - 51,410 66

Estimated uncollectible VOI notes receivable (2)

  (6,426 )   -     (6,426 ) (11 )   (6,632 )   -     (6,632 ) (13 )
Sales of VOIs 51,247 - 51,247 53 44,778 - 44,778 57
Cost of VOIs sold (3)   (9,623 )   -     (9,623 ) (19 )   (10,116 )   -     (10,116 ) (23 )
Gross profit (3) 41,624 - 41,624 81 34,662 - 34,662 77
Fee-based sales commission revenue - 25,703 25,703 26 - 18,308 18,308 23
Other resort fee-based services revenues - 18,875 18,875 19 - 17,287 17,287 22
Cost of other resort fee-based services - (10,241 ) (10,241 ) (11 ) - (9,231 ) (9,231 ) (12 )
Net carrying cost of VOI inventory (1,710 ) - (1,710 ) (2 ) (2,925 ) - (2,925 ) (4 )
Selling and marketing expense (4) (24,324 ) (16,614 ) (40,938 ) (42 ) (22,972 ) (12,046 ) (35,018 ) (45 )
Resorts G & A expense (4)   (3,085 )   (2,108 )   (5,193 ) (5 )   (3,113 )   (1,632 )   (4,745 ) (6 )

Bluegreen Resorts operating profit (5)

$ 12,505   $ 15,615   $ 28,120   29 % $ 5,652   $ 12,686   $ 18,338   23 %
 
       
Six Months Ended June 30, 2012 Six Months Ended June 30, 2011
Traditional   Fee-Based   % of System- Traditional   Fee-Based   % of System-
Timeshare Services wide sales of Timeshare Services wide sales of
Business Business Total

VOIs, net (6)

Business Business Total

VOIs, net (6)

System-wide sales of VOI’s (1) $ 111,815 $ 59,115 $ 170,930 $ 93,762 $ 43,861 $ 137,623

Change in sales deferred under timeshare accounting rules

  (4,154 )   -     (4,154 )

 

  (1,304 )   -     (1,304 )
System-wide sales of VOIs, net (1) 107,661 59,115 166,776 100 % 92,458 43,861 136,319 100 %
Less: Sales of third-party VOIs   -     (59,115 )   (59,115 ) (35 )   -     (43,861 )   (43,861 ) (32 )
Gross sales of VOIs 107,661 - 107,661 65 92,458 - 92,458 68

Estimated uncollectible VOI notes receivable (2)

  (13,094 )   -     (13,094 ) (12 )   (10,751 )   -     (10,751 ) (12 )
Sales of VOIs 94,567 - 94,567 57 81,707 - 81,707 60
Cost of VOIs sold (3)   (18,765 )   -     (18,765 ) (20 )   (20,654 )   -     (20,654 ) (25 )
Gross profit (3) 75,802 - 75,802 80 61,053 - 61,053 75
Fee-based sales commission revenue - 38,481 38,481 23 - 29,072 29,072 21
Other resort fee-based services revenues - 37,690 37,690 23 - 34,487 34,487 25
Cost of other resort fee-based services - (19,835 ) (19,835 ) (12 ) - (18,170 ) (18,170 ) (13 )
Net carrying cost of VOI inventory (5,102 ) - (5,102 ) (3 ) (7,067 ) - (7,067 ) (5 )
Selling and marketing expense (4) (47,508 ) (26,086 ) (73,594 ) (44 ) (43,101 ) (20,446 ) (63,547 ) (47 )
Resorts G & A expense (4)   (6,241 )   (3,427 )   (9,668 ) (6 )   (6,057 )   (2,874 )   (8,931 ) (7 )
Bluegreen Resorts operating profit (5) $ 16,951   $ 26,823   $ 43,774   26 % $ 4,828   $ 22,069   $ 26,897   20 %
 

(1) Amounts for “Fee-Based Services Business” represent sales of VOIs made on behalf of third parties, which are transacted as sales of timeshare interests in the Bluegreen Vacation Club and through the same sales and marketing process as the sale of the Company’s VOI inventory included under “Traditional Timeshare Business.”

(2) Percentages for estimated uncollectible VOI notes receivable are calculated as a percentage of gross sales of VOIs.

(3) Percentages for cost of VOIs sold and the associated gross profit are calculated as a percentage of sales of VOIs.

(4) Selling and marketing expenses and Resorts G&A expenses are allocated pro rata based on system-wide sales of VOIs, net.

(5) General and administrative expenses attributable to corporate overhead have been excluded from the table. Corporate general and administrative expenses totaled $11.4 million and $8.8 million for the three months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively and $24.7 million and $19.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively.

(6) Unless otherwise indicated.

System-wide sales of VOIs rose to $96.2 million in Q2 2012 from $79.1 million in Q2 2011. This reflects an increase in the number of total sales transactions (8,378 in Q2 2012 from 6,559 in Q2 2011), the result of increased tour flow and improved total sale-to-tour conversion ratio (17.1% in Q2 2012, up from 14.5% in Q2 2011) and new prospect sale-to-tour conversion ratio (12.0% in Q2 2012 as compared to 10.2% in Q2 2011), partially offset by a lower average sales price per transaction ($11,748 for Q2 2012 as compared to $12,250 for Q2 2011). Total prospect tours in Q2 2012 were 48,963 as compared to 45,348 in Q2 2011, with new prospect tours rising to 28,949 in Q2 2012 from 26,966 in Q2 2011.

System-wide sales also include Bluegreen’s sales of VOI inventory in connection with a new category of sales requiring low levels of capital deployment whereby we acquire VOI inventory from our resorts’ property owner associations (“POA Sales”) on a non-committed basis, in close proximity to the timing of our selling of such VOIs. These VOIs are typically obtained by the POAs through foreclosure in connection with maintenance fee defaults and are generally acquired by us at a discount. In the three and six months ended June 30, 2012, POA Sales are included within the results of Bluegreen’s Traditional Timeshare Business in the tables above.

Mr. Maloney commented, “This new program has demonstrated promising early results, with system-wide sales for the 2012 three and six month periods of $4.4 million and $7.9 million, respectively. We also currently intend to enter into similar ‘just-in-time’ inventory acquisition arrangements with third-party developers as part of our fee-based services initiative.”

Cost of VOIs sold represented 19% and 23% of sales of VOIs in Q2 2012 and Q2 2011, respectively. Cost of VOIs sold as a percentage of sales of VOIs varies between periods based on the relative costs of the specific VOIs sold in each period. Additionally, changes in assumptions, including estimated project sales, future defaults, upgrades and estimated incremental revenue from the resale of repossessed VOI inventory and the size of the point packages of the VOIs sold (due to offered volume discounts, including consideration of cumulative sales to existing owners) are reflected on a prospective basis in the period the change occurs.

As a percentage of system-wide sales of VOIs, net, selling and marketing expenses decreased to 42% in Q2 2012 from 45% in Q2 2011, due to changes in the mix of marketing programs and a higher sale-to-tour conversion ratio. Sales to existing Bluegreen owners as a percentage of system-wide sales of VOIs was 57% in both Q2 2012 and Q2 2011.

Operating profit at Resorts rose to $28.1 million, or 29% of system-wide sales of VOI’s, net, for Q2 2012 from operating profit of $18.3 million, or 23% of system-wide sales of VOI’s, net, for Q2 2011.

INTEREST INCOME AND INTEREST EXPENSE

Net interest spread is the excess of interest income over interest expense. Pre-tax income from net interest spread in Q2 2012 rose to $10.6 million from $10.0 million in Q2 2011, due to a decrease in interest expense as Bluegreen continues to reduce the level of debt on its balance sheet, partially offset by lower interest income resulting from the continued decline in Bluegreen’s VOI notes receivable portfolio due to both the maturing of the portfolio as well as our efforts to increase cash sales and collect higher down payments on those VOI sales that we do finance.

DISCONTINUED OPERATIONS

Bluegreen Communities, which is reported as discontinued operations in all periods presented, marketed residential homesites, the majority of which were sold directly to retail customers seeking to build a home generally in the future, and operated daily-fee golf courses. As previously announced, on May 4, 2012, substantially all of the assets which comprised Bluegreen Communities were sold to Southstar Development Partners, Inc. for a purchase price of $29.0 million in cash, the majority of which was used to pay outstanding debt which was collateralized by the Bluegreen Communities assets. Bluegreen may also receive certain contingent consideration based on Southstar’s sale, if any, of two properties sold to Southstar as part of the transaction. The loss from discontinued operations, net of income tax benefit for Q2 2012 was $1.4 million, or $0.04 per diluted share, compared to a loss of $36.4 million, or $1.13 per diluted share, in Q2 2011.

ABOUT BLUEGREEN CORPORATION

Founded in 1966 and headquartered in Boca Raton, FL, Bluegreen Corporation (NYSE:BXG) is a leading timeshare sales, marketing and resort management company. Bluegreen manages, markets and sells the Bluegreen Vacation Club, a flexible, points-based, deeded vacation ownership plan with more than 160,000 owners, over 59 owned or managed resorts, and access to more than 4,000 resorts worldwide. Bluegreen also offers a portfolio of comprehensive, turnkey, fee-based service resort management, financial services, and sales and marketing on behalf of third parties. For more information, visit www.bluegreencorp.com.

Additional Information and Where to Find it

BFC has filed a Registration Statement on Form S-4 with the Securities Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), which has been declared effective, and BFC and Bluegreen have mailed to their respective shareholders a joint proxy statement/prospectus concerning the proposed merger between the companies. BFC and Bluegreen may also file other documents with the SEC regarding the merger. Investors and shareholders of BFC and Bluegreen are urged to read the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents filed with the SEC carefully and in their entirety because they contain important information. Investors and shareholders of BFC and Bluegreen can obtain copies of the joint proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant documents filed with the SEC free of charge from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by BFC are also available free of charge on BFC's website at www.bfcfinancial.com under the tab "Investor Relations -Regulatory Info - SEC Filings" or by directing a request by mail to BFC Financial Corporation, Corporate Secretary, 2100 West Cypress Creek Road, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33309, or by phone at 954-940-4900. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Bluegreen are available free of charge on Bluegreen's website at www.bluegreencorp.com under the tab "Investors - SEC Filings" or by directing a request by mail to Bluegreen Corporation, Corporate Secretary, 4960 Conference Way North, Suite 100, Boca Raton, Florida 33431, or by phone at 561-912-8000.

Statements in this release may constitute forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward looking statements are based largely on expectations and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, the risks and uncertainties associated with economic, credit market, competitive and other factors affecting the Company and its operations, markets, products and services; risks relating to the proposed merger with BFC, including that the anticipated benefits of the merger may not be realized and the risk that the merger may not be consummated in accordance with the contemplated terms, in the contemplated timeframe, or at all; the Company’s efforts to improve its liquidity through cash sales and larger down payments on financed sales may not be successful; the performance of the Company’s VOI notes receivable may deteriorate, and the FICO® score-based credit underwriting standards may not have the expected effects on the performance of the receivables; the Company may not be in a position to draw down on its existing credit lines or may be unable to renew, extend, or replace such lines of credit; the Company may require new credit lines to provide liquidity for its operations, including facilities to sell or finance its notes receivable; the Company may not be able to successfully securitize additional timeshare loans and/or obtain adequate receivable credit facilities in the future; risks relating to pending or future litigation, regulatory proceedings, claims and assessments; sales and marketing strategies may not be successful; marketing costs may increase and not result in increased sales; system-wide sales, including sales on behalf of third parties and sales to existing owners, may not continue at current levels or they may decrease; fee-based service initiatives may not be successful and may not grow or generate profits as anticipated; POA Sales may not continue at current levels or may decrease, and we may not be successful in our efforts to enter into similar arrangements with third-party developers in connection with our fee-based services business; risks related to other financial trends discussed in this press release, including that the volume of tours and the sale-to-tour conversion ratio may not continue at current levels or decrease, the Company may be required to further increase its allowance for loan losses in the future and record additional impairment charges as a result of any such increase; selling and marketing expenses as a percentage of system-wide sales of VOIs, net may not remain at current levels or they may increase; and the Company’s indebtedness may increase in the future; and the risks and other factors detailed in the Company’s SEC filings, including those contained in the “Risk Factors” sections of such filings.

   

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (Loss) and Comprehensive Income (Loss)

(In 000's, except per share data)

(Unaudited)

 

 
For the Three Months Ended For the Six Months Ended
June 30, June 30,
   
2012 2011 2012 2011
 
Revenues:
Gross sales of VOI $ 57,673 $ 51,410 $ 107,661 $ 92,458
Estimated uncollectible VOI notes receivable   (6,426 )   (6,632 )   (13,094 )   (10,751 )
Sales of VOIs 51,247 44,778 94,567 81,707
 
Fee-based sales commission revenue 25,703 18,308 38,481 29,072
Other fee-based services revenue 18,875 17,287 37,690 34,487
Interest income 21,688 23,902 43,566 48,458
Other income, net   -     -     382     -  
  117,513     104,275     214,686     193,724  
 
Costs and expenses:
Cost of VOIs sold 9,623 10,116 18,765 20,654
Cost of other resort fee-based services 11,951 12,156 24,937 25,237
Selling, general and administrative expenses 58,296 49,406 109,363 93,350
Interest expense 11,071 13,903 22,423 28,521
Other expense, net   -     1,239     -     915  
  90,941     86,820     175,488     168,677  
 

Income before non-controlling interest, provision for income taxes, and discontinued operations

26,572 17,455 39,198 25,047

Provision for income taxes

  9,680     6,186     13,812     8,712  
Income from continuing operations 16,892 11,269 25,386 16,335
Loss from discontinued operations, net of income taxes   (1,393 )   (36,386 )   (1,696 )   (37,762 )
Net income (loss) 15,499 (25,117 ) 23,690 (21,427 )
Less: Net income attributable to non-controlling interest   2,239     1,582     4,781     2,741  
Net income (loss) attributable to Bluegreen Corporation $ 13,260   $ (26,699 ) $ 18,909   $ (24,168 )
 
Income (loss) attributable to Bluegreen Corporation per common share - Basic

Earnings per share from continuing operations attributable to Bluegreen shareholders

$ 0.47 $ 0.31 $ 0.66 $ 0.44
Loss per share from discontinued operations   (0.04 )   (1.17 )   (0.05 )   (1.21 )
Earnings (loss) per share attributable to Bluegreen shareholders $ 0.42   $ (0.86 ) $ 0.61   $ (0.77 )
 
Income (Loss) attributable to Bluegreen Corporation per common share - Diluted

Earnings per share from continuing operations attributable to Bluegreen shareholders

$ 0.46 $ 0.30 $ 0.65 $ 0.42
Loss per share from discontinued operations   (0.04 )   (1.13 )   (0.05 )   (1.18 )
Earnings (loss) per share attributable to Bluegreen shareholders $ 0.42   $ (0.83 ) $ 0.60   $ (0.76 )
 
Weighted average number of common shares:
Basic   31,264     31,210     31,254     31,194  
Diluted   31,568     32,156     31,500     32,082  
 
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to Bluegreen Corporation $ 13,260   $ (26,699 ) $ 18,909   $ (24,168 )
 
   

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets

(In 000's, except per share data)

 
June 30, December 31,
2012   2011
ASSETS (Unaudited)
 
Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents $ 65,505 $ 80,931

Restricted cash ($39,823 and $38,913 in VIEs in June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively)

59,478 51,125

Notes receivable, net ($353,631 and $375,904 in VIEs at June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively)

491,800 512,517
Inventory 293,489 302,843
Prepaid expenses 11,101 4,120
Other assets 52,269 47,100
Property and equipment, net 69,060 70,112
Assets held for sale       28,625
Total assets $ 1,042,702   $ 1,097,373
 
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITY
Liabilities
Accounts payable $ 13,297 $ 8,834
Accrued liabilities and other 65,984 62,878
Deferred income 27,873 24,549
Deferred income taxes 27,791 15,776

Receivable-backed notes payable - recourse ($12,879 and $15,826 in VIEs at June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively)

99,059 110,016
Receivable-backed notes payable - non-recourse (in VIEs) 339,578 369,314
Lines-of-credit and notes payable 32,536 86,817
Junior subordinated debentures   110,827     110,827
Total liabilities $ 716,945 $ 789,011
 
 
 
Shareholders' Equity

Preferred stock, $.01 par value, 1,000 shares authorized; none issued

Common stock, $.01 par value, 140,000 shares authorized; 31,347 and 31,288 shares issued June 30, 2012 and December 31, 2011, respectively

313 313
Additional paid-in capital 193,054 191,999
Retained earnings   95,927     77,018
Total Bluegreen Corporation shareholders' equity 289,294 269,330
Non-controlling interest   36,463     39,032
Total shareholders’ equity   325,757     308,362
Total liabilities and shareholders' equity $ 1,042,702   $ 1,097,373
 

Contacts

Bluegreen Corporation
Chief Financial Officer
Tony Puleo, 561-912-8270
tony.puleo@bluegreencorp.com
or
Investor Relations:
The Equity Group Inc.
Senior Vice President
Devin Sullivan, 212-836-9608
dsullivan@equityny.com

Contacts

Bluegreen Corporation
Chief Financial Officer
Tony Puleo, 561-912-8270
tony.puleo@bluegreencorp.com
or
Investor Relations:
The Equity Group Inc.
Senior Vice President
Devin Sullivan, 212-836-9608
dsullivan@equityny.com