Schuler net rises
28.7% despite
fall in isle sales

A mainland increase offsets a
5.3% decline in Hawaii purchases

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By Russ Lynch
rlynch@starbulletin.com

Helped by an increase in mainland home sales that countered a decline in Hawaii, Schuler Homes Inc. had a 28.7 percent increase in its profit for the quarter that ended Dec. 31.

Schuler today reported a net of $27.1 million, or 66 cents a share, for the period, the third quarter of its fiscal year. In the year-earlier quarter, Schuler had a profit of $21.1 million, or 50 cents a share. Revenues increased 17.5 percent to $415.4 million in the latest quarter from $353.6 million in the year-earlier period.

The company completed its merger with Western Pacific Housing in April and shifted to a March 31 fiscal year. The latest figures were reported on a pro-forma basis, showing the results for the 2000 period as if the companies had been together at that time.

Founded in Hawaii in 1988, Schuler has been growing outside the islands and has operations in California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Arizona as well as Hawaii. Soon it will undergo and even bigger change, merging with D.R. Horton Inc. to create the second-biggest home builder in the nation. The merger is expected to take place Feb. 21.

In the latest three months, Schuler closed the sales of 1,495 homes, a 25.8 percent increase from 1,188 during the third quarter of last year. At Dec. 31, Schuler had a backlog of 1,692 homes ordered but not yet delivered, with a total sales value of $524 million. At the end of 2000, the backlog was 1,954 homes with a total value of $581 million.

In Hawaii, Schuler closed 90 homes sales in the quarter, down 5.3 percent from 95 in the year-earlier quarter. At the end of the year, the backlog in Hawaii was 155 homes, up 39.6 percent from 111 at the end of 2000 and worth $45.9 million, up 39.1 percent from $33 million.

For the first nine months of its financial year, Schuler had a profit of $63.2 million, up 32.5 percent from a year-earlier $47.7 million and equal to $1.51 a share compared to $1.15 a share in the previous three quarters. Nine-months revenues of $1.1 billion were up 29 percent from $853 million.