St Joe Company (JOE)

[Enterprising Investor]

JOE Reports First Quarter 2012 Results (5/03/12)

WATERSOUND, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The St. Joe Company (NYSE: JOE) today announced a Net Loss for the first quarter of 2012 of $(0.9) million, or $(0.01) per share, compared to Net Income of $14.1 million, or $0.15 per share for the first quarter of 2011.

Revenue for the first quarter of 2012 declined to $30.5 million compared to $73.4 million in the first quarter of 2011. The $42.9 million decline in revenue is due to one-time revenue generated by a timber deed transaction that was executed in the first quarter of 2011. That particular transaction added $54.5 million of revenue and $50.3 million in pre-tax gain to the 2011 first quarter results. Excluding the timber deed transaction, adjusted revenue grew 61%, from $18.9 million in the first quarter of 2011 to $30.5 million in the first quarter of 2012. Highlights for the first quarter of 2012 include:

•Completion of two commercial property sales in Northwest Florida consisting of 17.5 acres for $6.0 million, or an average of $340,000 per acre;

•Operating expenses declined $17.1 million compared to the first quarter of 2011 as a result of reduction in staff, lower legal fees, lower restructuring and severance costs, and reduced stock-based compensation charges.

Park Brady, St. Joe’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “We are continuing to reduce expenses and evaluate our assets for revenue and growth opportunities. We believe that our current cash position and cost structure provide us with the ability to hold or opportunistically reposition our assets to create additional shareholder value. We intend to continue to invest in those projects that we believe will meet our risk-adjusted return criteria such as our holdings in Venture Crossings at the Airport, the Port of St. Joe, Breakfast Point, our primary home community in Northwest Florida, and Rivertown, our primary home community in Northeast Florida.”

At March 31, 2012, St. Joe had cash of $165.7 million, pledged treasury securities of $22.8 million and debt of $52.8 million, $22.8 million of which is defeased debt.

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20120503006974/en/St.-Joe-Company-Reports-Quarter-2012-Results