Beazer Homes USA Inc., the home builder under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission, will restate earnings for nine years after an internal probe found evidence its mortgage unit violated federal regulations.
A settlement with regulators may cost as much as $15 million, the Atlanta company said Thursday.
The restatement will affect financial statements from 1999 to 2006.
Employees violated Department of Housing and Urban Development regulations related to the agency's down-payment assistance program, Beazer said. It intends to negotiate a settlement with HUD.
The company said the investigation found some of Beazer's accounting for land development and lease-back transactions did not comply with generally accepted accounting principles.
Beazer also issued preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter and said home closings fell 39%, to 3,940.
New orders plunged 52%, to 990 homes, as the cancellation rate surged to 68%, due "in large part to the pronounced tightening in the mortgage markets in August and September."
