Centex 8-K Centex Reports First Quarter Results

Exhibit 99.1

	Centex Corporation
	2728 N. Harwood
	Dallas, Texas 75201-1516
	P.O. Box 199000
	Dallas, Texas 75219-9000

news release

For Immediate Release

For additional information, please contact:
Matthew G. Moyer, Vice President — Investor Relations
Eric Bruner, Director — Public Relations
214.981.5000

CENTEX REPORTS FIRST QUARTER RESULTS

DALLAS— July 29, 2008: Centex Corporation(NYSE: CTX)today reported financial results for its fiscal first quarter ended June 30, 2008.

Highlights of the quarter ended June 30, 2008 (compared to last year’s first quarter):

• Sales (orders) decreased 35% (down 23% on a per neighborhood basis) to 4,215

• Loss from continuing operations of $1.36 per diluted share

• Reduced homebuilding SG&A expenses by 44% or $132 million

• Generated positive cash flow from homebuilding operations

• June 30^th cash balance of $1.24 billion

“The housing market worsened in the June quarter, and I don’t expect to see it improve this fiscal year,” said Tim Eller, chairman and CEO of Centex Corp. “We ended the quarter with $1.24 billion in cash, improved our gross margins sequentially and continued to reduce overhead expenses. I am confident that we will continue to lower our costs and improve our balance sheet through positive homebuilding operating cash flow generation over the remainder of this fiscal year.”

Corporate Results
Fiscal 2009’s first quarter revenues were $1.13 billion, 41% lower than the same quarter last year. The loss from continuing operations for the first quarter was $169 million, or a loss of $1.36 per diluted share, up from a loss of $132 million, or $1.08 per diluted share, in the previous year’s fiscal first quarter. Included in the first quarter of fiscal 2009’s loss from continuing operations are $80 million of impairments and other land-related charges, including the company’s share of joint venture impairments. First quarter’s corporate general and administrative expenses were $58.6 million this year, up from $45.0 million in last year’s first quarter reflecting primarily an increase in reserves, strategic investments to improve our core business processes and the centralization of certain division functions. “Restoring profitability remains a top company priority. While corporate G&A was higher this quarter, I am pleased that when combined with homebuilding SG&A, the total was down 35% from last year’s first quarter as we continue to adjust overhead spending to the new revenue realities,” Mr. Eller said.

Home Building
Fiscal 2009’s first quarter revenues were $1.05 billion, 42% lower than the same quarter last year as a result of a 35% decrease in closings to 3,939 homes and a 10% decrease in average sales price to $262,044. Home building reported an operating loss of $131 million for the quarter versus a loss of $172 million in last year’s first quarter. The operating loss includes $80 million of impairments and write offs.

Housing operating losses (housing revenues less housing cost of sales and SG&A) were $44 million, up from a loss of $5 million in the previous year. The increase in loss is a result of a 470 bps reduction in housing gross margin as well as a 42% decrease in housing revenues. The reduction in gross margin was primarily a result of a 170 bps increase in discounts and sales incentives to 10.5% of revenues and higher financing and closing costs.

Financial Services
Financial Services reported operating earnings of $6 million this quarter, down from earnings of $15 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2007, due principally to lower origination volumes.

Other
Centex recently announced new national energy-efficiency standards starting in January 2009. Homes equipped with the “Centex Energy Advantage” are up to 22% more energy efficient than comparable new homes and up to 40% more efficient than a typical 10-year-old home, according to the NAHB Research Center. “Centex Energy Advantage takes direct aim at making home ownership more affordable. As energy costs continue to mount, first-time homebuyers are increasingly sensitive to the operating costs of a home,” Mr. Eller said. “We believe the Centex Energy Advantage will be a key consideration among customers who are budget-conscious or environmentally sensitive.”

During the fiscal first quarter, the Company increased by $49 million a valuation allowance related to its deferred tax asset in accordance with Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 109, “Accounting for Income Taxes.” The increase in the valuation allowance was reflected as a charge to income tax expense and a reduction of the Company’s deferred tax asset. At the end of the quarter, the balance of the Company’s deferred tax asset was $143 million, net of a valuation allowance of $879 million.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures
Explanations of non-GAAP financial measures used in this press release and the accompanying attachments, and reconciliations of the non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures, are given in the applicable attachments.

     Centex senior management will host a conference call to discuss the first quarter financial results at 10 a.m. Eastern Time (9 a.m. Central Time) on Wednesday, July 30th. The live webcast may be accessed on the Investor Relations section of the Centex web site at http://ir.centex.com. A replay of the webcast, as well as the presentation, will be archived on the Investor Relations page under the “Presentations” link.

# # #

Forward-Looking Statements
Some of the statements in this press release are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they relate only to anticipated or expected events, activities, trends or results, which are inherently subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors. Actual results and outcomes may differ materially from what is expressed or forecast in such statements. Important factors include, but are not limited to: (1) the effects of the current downturn in the homebuilding industry, including potential adverse market conditions that could result in additional inventory or other impairments; (2) changes in national or regional economic or business conditions, including employment levels and interest rates; (3) competition; (4) customer cancellations; (5) price changes in raw materials or other components of our houses; (6) the effects of disruptions in the mortgage finance industry, including tightening of credit and reduction in liquidity; (7) the availability of adequate sources of financing to continue to implement our business strategy; and (8) our ability to generate cash from sales of assets and other sources that supplement our existing capital resources. These and other risks and uncertainties are described in greater detail in our periodic and other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2008. Forward-looking statements included in this press release are made as of its date. We do not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement.

Note Attachments
(1) Revenues and Earnings by Lines of Business
(2) Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet
(3) Home Building Segment Data
(4) Supplemental Home Building Data

Attachment 1

Centex Corporation and Subsidiaries
Revenues and Earnings by Lines of Business
(Dollars in thousands, except per share data)

	Quarter Ended
	June 30,
	(unaudited)
	2008			2007 (C)			Change
Revenues
Home Building (A)	$	1,049,699		$	1,803,820			(42	%)
Financial Services		76,423			97,966			(22	%)
Total	$	1,126,122		$	1,901,786			(41	%)
Operating Earnings (Loss)
Home Building (A)	$	(131,103	)	$	(171,779	)
Financial Services		6,067			14,969
Other		7,108			4,926
Total Operating Earnings (Loss)		(117,928	)		(151,884	)
Corporate General and Administrative Expenses		(58,639	)		(44,981	)
Interest Expense		(6,180	)		—
Loss from Continuing Operations Before Income Taxes		(182,747	)		(196,865	)
Income Tax Benefit (B)		13,635			64,784
Loss from Continuing Operations		(169,112	)		(132,081	)
Earnings from Discontinued Operations, net		19,013			4,122
Net Loss	$	(150,099	)	$	(127,959	)
Earnings (Loss) Per Share — Basic and Diluted
Continuing Operations	$	(1.36	)	$	(1.08	)
Discontinued Operations		0.15			0.03
Earnings (Loss) Per Share — Basic and Diluted	$	(1.21	)	$	(1.05	)
Average Shares Outstanding — Basic and Diluted		124,231,358			121,469,951

(A)	See Attachment 3 for detailed home building segment revenues and earnings.
(B)	Current period includes a $49 million valuation allowance related to the deferred tax assets.
(C)	Prior periods have been conformed to the current year presentation.

INTEREST ANALYSIS

	Quarter Ended
	June 30,
	(unaudited)
	2008			2007
Total Interest Incurred	$	61,752		$	82,351
Less — Interest Capitalized		(51,269	)		(61,863	)
— Financial Services’ Interest Expense		(4,303	)		(20,488	)
Interest Expense, net	$	6,180		$	—
Capitalized Interest Charged to Home Building’s Costs and Expenses	$	25,535		$	43,066

Attachment 2

Centex Corporation and Subsidiaries
Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheet
(Dollars in millions)
(unaudited)

BALANCE SHEET

	June 30,		March 31,
	2008		2008
Assets
Cash -
Unrestricted	$	1,235	$	587
Restricted		50		51
Receivables -
Residential Mortgage Loans Held for Sale, net		563		516
Other Receivables		220		824
Inventories -
Direct Construction		1,574		1,746
Land Under Development		2,633		2,883
Land Held for Development and Sale		653		558
Land Held Under Option Agreements not Owned		143		148
Other		16		27
Investments		219		207
Property and Equipment, net		69		78
Goodwill		52		52
Deferred Tax Asset, Net of Valuation Allowance of $879 and $830		143		191
Deferred Charges and Other Assets		158		172
Assets of Discontinued Operations		—		97
	$	7,728	$	8,137
Liabilities and Stockholders’ Equity
Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities	$	1,868	$	2,064
Senior Notes and Other		3,254		3,325
Financial Services Debt Secured by Mortgage Loans		400		337
Liabilities of Discontinued Operations		—		34
Minority Interests		62		78
Stockholders’ Equity		2,144		2,299
	$	7,728	$	8,137

Attachment 3

Centex Corporation and Subsidiaries
Home Building Segment Data (A)
(Dollars in thousands, except per unit data)
(Unaudited)

	Revenues							Closings (Units)							Average Housing Revenue per Unit
	2008		2007		Change			2008		2007		Change			2008		2007		Change
Quarter Ended June 30,
East	$	183,131	$	360,776		(49	%)		644		1,119		(42	%)	$	279,894	$	317,134		(12	%)
Southeast		136,242		213,857		(36	%)		498		716		(30	%)		261,394		290,675		(10	%)
Central		131,973		202,028		(35	%)		607		940		(35	%)		216,713		212,744		2	%
Texas		177,341		263,540		(33	%)		1,007		1,521		(34	%)		174,839		171,728		2	%
Northwest		253,780		378,566		(33	%)		621		915		(32	%)		408,663		410,491		—	%
Southwest		152,938		342,397		(55	%)		526		774		(32	%)		282,120		438,145		(36	%)
Other homebuilding		14,294		42,656		(66	%)		36		110		(67	%)		332,833		325,836		2	%
Total Home Building	$	1,049,699	$	1,803,820		(42	%)		3,939		6,095		(35	%)	$	262,044	$	291,179		(10	%)

	Sales (Orders) (Units)							Sales (Orders) Backlog (Units)							Sales (Orders) Backlog
	2008		2007		Change			2008		2007		Change			2008		2007		Change
Quarter Ended June 30,
East		1,016		1,282		(21	%)		1,662		2,011		(17	%)	$	469,766	$	668,842		(30	%)
Southeast		579		743		(22	%)		1,417		1,546		(8	%)		396,138		456,564		(13	%)
Central		499		1,091		(54	%)		1,008		2,030		(50	%)		211,775		415,423		(49	%)
Texas		1,251		1,570		(20	%)		2,121		2,319		(9	%)		370,156		403,087		(8	%)
Northwest		515		796		(35	%)		1,144		1,551		(26	%)		411,217		677,900		(39	%)
Southwest		322		962		(67	%)		670		1,441		(54	%)		190,509		537,290		(65	%)
Other homebuilding		33		30		10	%		—		132		(100	%)		—		49,067		(100	%)
Total Home Building		4,215		6,474		(35	%)		8,022		11,030		(27	%)	$	2,049,561	$	3,208,173		(36	%)

	Operating Earnings (Loss)						Impairments & Write-offs (B)				Lots Owned (Units)				Lots Controlled (Units)
	2008			2007			2008		2007		2008		2007		2008		2007
Quarter Ended June 30,
East	$	(21,788	)	$	18,052		$	8,902	$	7,372		14,346		18,170		5,577		23,201
Southeast		(65,460	)		(13,017	)		31,155		10,459		20,462		25,027		2,470		6,537
Central		(20,392	)		(9,092	)		10,473		5,793		5,449		8,773		1,375		5,561
Texas		7,976			15,214			8		335		13,620		18,617		3,309		9,178
Northwest		(2,645	)		(29,358	)		4,959		21,795		5,059		8,531		1,149		5,824
Southwest		(28,449	)		(116,676	)		4,719		88,337		6,506		13,377		670		4,047
Other homebuilding		(345	)		(36,902	)		—		31,371		1,324		3,870		—		—
Total Home Building	$	(131,103	)	$	(171,779	)		60,216		165,462		66,766		96,365		14,550		54,348
Share of Joint Venture Impairments								19,698		27,050
Total Impairments							$	79,914	$	192,512

(A)	Prior periods have been conformed to the current year presentation.
(B)	Impairments and write-offs by segment include land-related impairments and write-offs and goodwill impairments.

Attachment 4

Centex Corporation and Subsidiaries
Supplemental Home Building Data
(Dollars in thousands, except per unit data)
(unaudited)

RECONCILIATION OF HOUSING/HOME BUILDING OPERATING EARNINGS

	Quarter Ended June 30,
	2008					2007
HOME BUILDING
Revenues — Housing	$	1,032,191		100.0	%	$	1,774,738		100.0	%
Cost of Sales — Housing		(910,126	)	(88.2	%)		(1,481,351	)	(83.5	%)
Gross Margin — Housing		122,065		11.8	%		293,387		16.5	%
Selling, General & Administrative (A)		(166,215	)	(16.1	%)		(298,628	)	(16.8	%)
Housing Operating Loss (B)		(44,150	)	(4.3	%)		(5,241	)	(0.3	%)
Revenues — Land Sales & Other		17,508					29,082
Cost of Sales — Land Sales & Other		(88,262	)				(175,567	)
Gross Margin — Land Sales & Other		(70,754	)				(146,485	)
Losses from Unconsolidated Entities and Other (C)		(16,199	)				(20,053	)
Operating Loss	$	(131,103	)	(12.5	%)	$	(171,779	)	(9.5	%)
Average Neighborhoods		568					676
% Change		(16.0	%)				1.0	%

(A)	Selling, General & Administrative expenses above are those associated with field operations.
(B)	Housing Operating Earnings is defined as housing revenues less housing cost of sales less selling, general & administrative expenses. Housing Operating Margin is defined as housing operating earnings divided by total housing revenues.
(C)	Includes losses from unconsolidated entities of $20,297 and $25,353, respectively.

IMPAIRMENTS AND WRITE-OFFS

	Quarter Ended June 30,
	2008		2007
Impairment Charges	$	50,115	$	142,592
Write-offs of Land Deposits and Pre-Acquisition Costs		10,101		22,870
Subtotal		60,216		165,462
Share of Joint Venture Impairments		19,698		27,050
Total Impairments and Write-offs	$	79,914	$	192,512