M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC. - Quarter Report: 2019 September (Form 10-Q)

M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

FORM 10-Q

FOR THE QUARTER ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2019

INDEX

PART I

ITEM 1.     Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements

M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.

M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Income

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.

M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.

M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Consolidated Statements of Changes in Stockholders’ Equity

(Dollars in thousands, except share amounts)

 The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.

M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows

The accompanying Notes are an integral part of these Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements of M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. ("MDC," “the Company," “we,” “us,” or “our,” which refers to M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries) have been prepared, without audit, pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Accordingly, they do not include all information and footnotes required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for complete financial statements. These statements reflect all normal and recurring adjustments which, in the opinion of management, are necessary to present fairly the financial position, results of operations and cash flows of MDC at September 30, 2019 and for all periods presented. These statements should be read in conjunction with MDC’s Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included in MDC’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018.

On January 28, 2019, MDC’s board of directors declared an 8% stock dividend that was distributed on February 28, 2019 to shareholders of record on February 14, 2019. In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 260, Earnings Per Share (“ASC 260”), basic and diluted earnings per share amounts, share amounts and dividends declared per share have been restated for any periods or dates prior to the stock dividend record date.

Included in these footnotes are certain statements that constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include statements regarding our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows, strategies and prospects. These forward-looking statements may be identified by terminology such as “likely,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue,” or the negative of such terms and other comparable terminology. Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this section are reasonable, we cannot guarantee future results. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. However, any further disclosures made on related subjects in subsequent reports on Forms 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K should be considered.

Where necessary, reclassifications have been made to our prior period financial information to conform to the current year presentation.

Adoption of New Accounting Standards

Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, Leases (“ASU 2016-02”) is codified in ASC 842, Leases (“ASC 842”). ASC 842 supersedes current lease guidance in ASC 840 and requires a lessee to recognize a right-of-use asset and a corresponding lease liability for substantially all leases. The lease liability will be equal to the present value of the remaining lease payments while the right-of-use asset will be similarly calculated and then adjusted for initial direct costs. In addition, ASC 842 expands the disclosure requirements to increase the transparency and comparability of the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. On January 1, 2019, we adopted ASC 842 using the modified retrospective transition method. We elected available practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance within the new standard, which among other items, allowed the Company to carry forward its historical lease classification and not reassess existing leases under the new definition of a lease in ASC 842. In addition, we will account for lease and non-lease components as a single lease component.

Adoption of ASC 842 resulted in the recording of additional net lease assets and lease liabilities of $34.2 million and $34.3 million, respectively, as of January 1, 2019. The difference between the additional lease assets and lease liabilities, net of the deferred tax impact, was recorded as an adjustment to retained earnings. The standard did not materially impact our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income or consolidated cash flows.

Accounting Standards Issued But Not Yet Adopted

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-13”), which requires measurement and recognition of expected credit losses for financial assets held. The amendments in ASU 2016-13 eliminate the probable threshold for initial recognition of a credit loss in current GAAP and reflect an entity’s current estimate of all expected credit losses. ASU 2016-13 is effective for our interim and annual reporting periods beginning January 1, 2020, and is to be applied using a modified retrospective transition method. Earlier adoption is permitted. We do not plan to early adopt ASU 2016-13 and with our current holdings of financial instruments that are subject to credit losses, we do not believe adoption of this guidance will have a material impact on our financial statements.

An operating segment is defined as a component of an enterprise for which discrete financial information is available and is reviewed regularly by the Chief Operating Decision Maker (“CODM”), or decision-making group, to evaluate performance and make operating decisions. We have identified our CODM as two key executives—the Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and the Chief Operating Officer (“COO”).

We have identified each homebuilding division as an operating segment. Our homebuilding operating segments have been aggregated into the reportable segments noted below because they are similar in the following regards: (1) economic characteristics; (2) housing products; (3) class of homebuyer; (4) regulatory environments; and (5) methods used to construct and sell homes. Our homebuilding reportable segments are as follows:

Our financial services business consists of the operations of the following operating segments: (1) HomeAmerican Mortgage Corporation (“HomeAmerican”); (2) Allegiant Insurance Company, Inc., A Risk Retention Group (“Allegiant”); (3) StarAmerican Insurance Ltd. (“StarAmerican”); (4) American Home Insurance Agency, Inc.; and (5) American Home Title and Escrow Company. Due to its contributions to consolidated pretax income, we consider HomeAmerican to be a reportable segment (“mortgage operations”). The remaining operating segments have been aggregated into one reportable segment (“other”) because they do not individually exceed 10 percent of: (1) consolidated revenue; (2) the greater of (a) the combined reported profit of all operating segments that did not report a loss or (b) the positive value of the combined reported loss of all operating segments that reported losses; or (3) consolidated assets.

Corporate is a non-operating segment that develops and implements strategic initiatives and supports our operating divisions by centralizing key administrative functions such as finance, treasury, information technology, insurance, risk management, litigation and human resources. Corporate also provides the necessary administrative functions to support MDC as a publicly traded company. A portion of the expenses incurred by Corporate are allocated to the homebuilding operating segments based on their respective percentages of assets, and to a lesser degree, a portion of Corporate expenses are allocated to the financial services segments. A majority of Corporate’s personnel and resources are primarily dedicated to activities relating to the homebuilding segments, and, therefore, the balance of any unallocated Corporate expenses is included in the homebuilding operations section of our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.     

The following table summarizes revenues for our homebuilding and financial services operations:

The following table summarizes pretax income (loss) for our homebuilding and financial services operations:

The following table summarizes total assets for our homebuilding and financial services operations. The assets in our West, Mountain and East segments consist primarily of inventory while the assets in our Corporate segment primarily include our cash and cash equivalents and deferred tax assets. The assets in our financial services segment consist mostly of cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities and mortgage loans held-for-sale.

ASC 260 requires a company that has participating security holders (for example, holders of unvested restricted stock that have non-forfeitable dividend rights) to utilize the two-class method for calculating earnings per share (“EPS”) unless the treasury stock method results in lower EPS. The two-class method is an allocation of earnings/(loss) between the holders of common stock and a company’s participating security holders. Under the two-class method, earnings/(loss) for the reporting period are allocated between common shareholders and other security holders based on their respective rights to receive distributed earnings (i.e., dividends) and undistributed earnings (i.e., net income/(loss)). Our common shares outstanding are comprised of shareholder owned common stock and shares of unvested restricted stock held by participating security holders. Basic EPS is calculated by dividing income or loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding, excluding participating shares in accordance with ASC 260. To calculate diluted EPS, basic EPS is adjusted to include the effect of potentially dilutive stock options outstanding. The table below shows our basic and diluted EPS calculations.

Diluted EPS for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 excluded options to purchase approximately 0.4 and 0.4 million shares of common stock, respectively, because the effect of their inclusion would be anti-dilutive. For the same periods in 2018, diluted EPS excluded options to purchase approximately 0.6 and 0.6 million shares, respectively.

The following table sets forth our changes in accumulated other comprehensive income (“AOCI”):

⁽¹⁾ Amounts net-of-tax.

During the first quarter of 2018, an election was made to reclassify the income tax effects of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act related to net unrealized gains on equity investments from accumulated other comprehensive income to retained earnings.

ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements (“ASC 820”), defines fair value, establishes guidelines for measuring fair value and expands disclosures regarding fair value measurements. ASC 820 establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. These tiers include: Level 1, defined as observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets; Level 2, defined as inputs, other than quoted prices in active markets, that are either directly or indirectly observable; and Level 3, defined as unobservable inputs for which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions.

The following table sets forth the fair values and methods used for measuring the fair values of financial instruments on a recurring basis:

The following methods and assumptions were used to estimate the fair value of each class of financial instruments as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018.

Cash and cash equivalents (excluding debt securities with an original maturity of three months or less), restricted cash, trade and other receivables, prepaid and other assets, accounts payable, accrued liabilities and borrowings on our revolving credit facility. Fair value approximates carrying value.

Equity securities. Our equity securities consist of holdings in common stock and exchange traded funds. As of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, all of our equity securities were recorded at fair value with all changes in fair value recorded to net gain (loss) on marketable equity securities in the financial services section of our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

Debt securities. Our debt securities consist of U.S. government securities. As of December 31, 2018, all of our debt securities were treated as available-for-sale investments and, as such, are recorded at fair value with all changes in fair value initially recorded through AOCI, subject to an assessment to determine if any unrealized loss, if applicable, is other-than-temporary.

The following tables set forth the cost and estimated fair value of our available-for-sale debt securities:

The following table reconciles the net gain recognized during the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 on equity securities to the unrealized gain recognized during the periods on equity securities still held at the reporting date.

Mortgage loans held-for-sale, net.  Our mortgage loans held-for-sale, which are measured at fair value on a recurring basis, include (1) mortgage loans held-for-sale that are under commitments to sell and (2) mortgage loans held-for-sale that are not under commitments to sell. At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, we had $101.7 million and $130.8 million, respectively, of mortgage loans held-for-sale under commitments to sell. The fair value for those loans was based on quoted market prices for those mortgage loans, which are Level 2 fair value inputs. At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, we had $15.3 million and $18.5 million, respectively, of mortgage loans held-for-sale that were not under commitments to sell. The fair value for those loans was primarily based upon the estimated market price received from an outside party, which is a Level 2 fair value input.

Gains on sales of mortgage loans, net, are included as a component of revenues in the financial services section of our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, we recorded net gains on the sales of mortgage loans of $14.6 million and $38.9 million, respectively, compared to $11.8 million and $31.1 million for the same periods in the prior year, respectively.

Mortgage Repurchase Facility. The debt associated with our mortgage repurchase facility (see Note 19 for further discussion) is at floating rates that approximate current market rates and have relatively short-term maturities, generally within 30 days. The fair value approximates carrying value and is based on Level 2 inputs.

Senior Notes. The estimated values of the senior notes in the following table are based on Level 2 inputs, which primarily reflect estimated prices for our senior notes that were provided by multiple sources.

The following table sets forth, by reportable segment, information relating to our homebuilding inventories:

Our inventories are primarily associated with communities where we intend to construct and sell homes, including models and unsold homes. Costs capitalized to land and land under development primarily include: (1) land costs; (2) land development costs; (3) entitlement costs; (4) capitalized interest; (5) engineering fees; and (6) title insurance, real property taxes and closing costs directly related to the purchase of the land parcel. Components of housing completed or under construction primarily include: (1) land costs transferred from land and land under development; (2) direct construction costs associated with a house; (3) real property taxes, engineering fees, permits and other fees; (4) capitalized interest; and (5) indirect construction costs, which include field construction management salaries and benefits, utilities and other construction related costs. Land costs are transferred from land and land under development to housing completed or under construction at the point in time that construction of a home on an owned lot begins.

In accordance with ASC Topic 360, Property, Plant, and Equipment (“ASC 360”), homebuilding inventories, excluding those classified as held for sale, are carried at cost unless events and circumstances indicate that the carrying value of the underlying subdivision may not be recoverable.  We evaluate inventories for impairment at each quarter end on a subdivision level basis as each such subdivision represents the lowest level of identifiable cash flows. In making this determination, we review, among other things, the following for each subdivision:

If events or circumstances indicate that the carrying value of our inventory may not be recoverable, assets are reviewed for impairment by comparing the undiscounted estimated future cash flows from an individual subdivision (including capitalized interest) to its carrying value. If the undiscounted future cash flows are less than the subdivision’s carrying value, the carrying value of the subdivision is written down to its then estimated fair value. We generally determine the estimated fair value of each subdivision by determining the present value of the estimated future cash flows at discount rates, which are Level 3 inputs, that are commensurate with the risk of the subdivision under evaluation. The evaluation for the recoverability of the carrying value of the assets for each individual subdivision can be impacted significantly by our estimates of future home sale revenues, home construction costs, and development costs per home, all of which are Level 3 inputs.

If land is classified as held for sale, we measure it in accordance with ASC 360 at the lower of the carrying value or fair value less estimated costs to sell. In determining fair value, we primarily rely upon the most recent negotiated price, which is a Level 2 input. If a negotiated price is not available, we will consider several factors including, but not limited to, current market conditions, recent comparable sales transactions and market analysis studies, which are considered Level 3 inputs. If the fair value less estimated costs to sell is lower than the current carrying value, the land is impaired down to its estimated fair value less costs to sell.

Impairments of homebuilding inventory by segment for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 are shown in the table below.

The table below provides quantitative data, for the periods presented, used in determining the fair value of the impaired inventory.

We capitalize interest to inventories during the period of development in accordance with ASC Topic 835, Interest (“ASC 835”). Homebuilding interest capitalized as a cost of inventories is included in cost of sales during the period that related units or lots are delivered. To the extent our homebuilding debt exceeds our qualified assets as defined in ASC 835, we expense a portion of the interest incurred. Qualified homebuilding assets consist of all lots and homes, excluding finished unsold homes or finished models, within projects that are actively selling or under development. The table set forth below summarizes homebuilding interest activity. For all periods presented below, our qualified assets exceeded our homebuilding debt and as such, all interest incurred has been capitalized.

We lease certain property, land and equipment, the majority of which comprise property related leases to provide office space where we operate our business. Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the balance sheet. We recognize lease expense for these leases on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Our property related leases typically have terms of between three and five years, with the exception of the lease governing the Company’s headquarters, and are classified as operating leases. These leases do not contain any residual value guarantees or restrictive covenants and no variable lease payments, except for common area maintenance and real estate taxes. Many of our property related leases give us the option to extend the lease term for a period of time, generally consistent with the initial lease term. These options are excluded from our calculation of the right-of-use asset and lease liability until such time as we determine it is reasonably certain that the option will be exercised.

The property related lease for the Company’s headquarters in Denver, Colorado is ten years in length with an expiration date of October 31, 2026 and contains a ten year option to extend the term of the lease through 2036. This option has been excluded from our calculation of the right-of-use asset and lease liability as it is not currently considered reasonably certain that the option will be exercised.

Operating lease expense is included as a component of selling, general and administrative expenses and expenses in the homebuilding and financial services sections of our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income, respectively. Components of operating lease expense were as follows:

¹ Includes variable lease costs, which are immaterial.

Supplemental cash flow information related to leases was as follows:

Supplemental cash flow information related to non-cash transactions also includes the recognition of operating lease right-of-use assets of $33.5 million and operating lease liabilities of $34.3 million upon adoption of ASC 842.

Weighted-average remaining lease term and discount rate for operating leases were as follows:

Maturities of operating lease liabilities were as follows:

The following table sets forth the components of homebuilding prepaid and other assets:

The following table sets forth information relating to homebuilding accrued liabilities:

The following table sets forth information relating to financial services accounts payable and accrued liabilities:

Our homes are sold with limited third-party warranties and, under our agreement with the issuer of the third-party warranties, we are responsible for performing all of the work for the first two years of the warranty coverage and paying for substantially all of the work required to be performed during years three through ten of the warranties. We record accruals for general and structural warranty claims, as well as accruals for known, unusual warranty-related expenditures. Our warranty accrual is recorded based upon historical payment experience in an amount estimated to be adequate to cover expected costs of materials and outside labor during warranty periods. The determination of the warranty accrual rate for closed homes and the evaluation of our warranty accrual balance at period end are based on an internally developed analysis that includes known facts and interpretations of circumstances, including, among other things, our trends in historical warranty payment levels and warranty payments for claims not considered to be normal and recurring.

Our warranty accrual is included in accrued liabilities in the homebuilding section of our consolidated balance sheets and adjustments to our warranty accrual are recorded as an increase or reduction to home cost of sales in the homebuilding section of our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income.

The table set forth below summarizes accrual, adjustment and payment activity related to our warranty accrual for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018. For the nine months ended September 30, 2018, we recorded adjustments to increase our warranty accrual by $3.1 million due to higher than expected warranty related expenditures.

The establishment of reserves for estimated losses associated with insurance policies issued by Allegiant and re-insurance agreements issued by StarAmerican are based on actuarial studies that include known facts and interpretations of circumstances, including our experience with similar cases and historical trends involving claim payment patterns, pending levels of unpaid claims, product mix or concentration, claim severity, frequency patterns depending on the business conducted, and changing regulatory and legal environments. It is possible that changes in the insurance payment experience used in estimating our ultimate insurance losses could have a material impact on our insurance reserves.

The establishment of reserves for estimated losses to be incurred by our homebuilding subsidiaries associated with (1) the self-insured retention (“SIR”) portion of construction defect claims that are expected to be covered under insurance policies with Allegiant and (2) the entire cost of any construction defect claims that are not expected to be covered by insurance policies with Allegiant are based on actuarial studies that include known facts similar to those for our insurance reserves. It is possible that changes in the payment experience used in estimating our ultimate losses for construction defect claims could have a material impact on our reserves.

The table set forth below summarizes our insurance and construction defect claim reserves activity for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018. These reserves are included as a component of accrued liabilities in the financial services and homebuilding sections of the consolidated balance sheets.

In the ordinary course of business, we make payments from our insurance and construction defect claim reserves to settle litigation claims arising from our homebuilding activities. These payments are irregular in both their timing and their magnitude. As a result, the cash payments, net of recoveries shown for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 are not necessarily indicative of what future cash payments will be for subsequent periods.

Our overall effective income tax rates were 19.5% and 24.4% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively, and 20.8% and 19.8% for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, respectively.  The rates for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 resulted in income tax expense of $12.2 million and $47.0 million, respectively, compared to income tax expense of $14.0 million and $38.5 million for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, respectively.  The year-over-year increase in our effective tax rate for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 was due to a $10.2 million decrease in benefits from energy tax credits. This was partially offset by a $2.7 million increase in benefits recognized upon the vesting or exercise of equity awards, primarily due to a $2.3 million benefit related to the 2016 performance share units recognized during the 2019 third quarter (see Note 16 for further discussion of the 2016 performance share unit awards). 

At September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018 we had deferred tax assets, net of valuation allowances and deferred tax liabilities, of $27.7 million and $37.2 million, respectively. The valuation allowances were primarily related to various state net operating loss carryforwards where realization is more uncertain at this time due to the limited carryforward periods coupled with minimal operating activity that exists in certain states.

The carrying values of our senior notes as of September 30, 2019 and December 31, 2018, net of any unamortized debt issuance costs or discount, were as follows:

Our senior notes are not secured and, while the senior note indentures contain some restrictions on secured debt and other transactions, they do not contain financial covenants. Our senior notes are fully and unconditionally guaranteed on an unsecured basis, jointly and severally, by most of our homebuilding segment subsidiaries.

We account for share-based awards in accordance with ASC Topic 718 Compensation–Stock Compensation (“ASC 718”), which requires the fair value of stock-based compensation awards to be amortized as an expense over the vesting period. Stock-based compensation awards are valued at fair value on the date of grant. The following table sets forth share-based award expense activity for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018, which is included as a component of selling general and administrative expenses and expenses in the homebuilding and financial services sections of our consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive income, respectively:

On August 5, 2019, May 23, 2018, June 20, 2017 and July 25, 2016, the Company granted long term performance share unit awards (“PSUs”) to each of the CEO, the COO, and the Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) under the Company’s 2011 Equity Incentive Plan. The PSUs are earned based upon the Company’s performance, over a three year period (the “Performance Period”), measured by increasing home sale revenues over a “Base Period.” Each award is conditioned upon the Company achieving an average gross margin from home sales (excluding impairments) of at least fifteen percent (15%) over the Performance Period. Target goals will be earned if the Company’s three year average home sale revenues over the Performance Period (“Performance Revenues”) exceed the home sale revenues over the Base Period (“Base Revenues”) by at least 10% but less than 20%. If Performance Revenues exceed the Base Revenues by at least 5% but less than 10%, 50% of the Target Goals will be earned (“Threshold Goals”). If Performance Revenues exceed the Base Revenues by at least 20%, 200% of the Target Goals will be earned (“Maximum Goals”).  For the PSUs granted in 2017, 2018 and 2019, the number of PSUs earned shall be adjusted to be proportional to the partial performance between the Threshold Goals, Target Goals and Maximum Goals. Details for each defined term above for each grant has been provided in the table below.