FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- BFC
Financial Corporation (NYSE Arca: BFF), a diversified holding
company that invests in operating businesses in a variety of
industries, today announced financial results for the second
quarter 2006. For the quarter ended June 30, 2006, BFC Financial
Corporation ("BFC" or "the Company") had a net loss allocable to
common stock of $260,000 or a diluted loss per share of ($0.01),
compared with net income allocable to common stock of $2.5 million,
or $0.08 per diluted share reported in the second quarter 2005.
Year-to-date, the Company reported a net loss allocable to common
stock of $713,000 or a diluted loss per share of ($0.02), compared
to net income allocable to common stock of $6.8 million, or $0.22
per diluted share reported for the first six months of 2005. As a
holding company with limited operations, BFC's financial results
primarily reflect those of the operating companies in which it has
its principal control investments. The Company's results for the
period reflect strategic long-term initiatives in place at BFC's
primary holdings, BankAtlantic Bancorp and Levitt Corporation.
Levitt Corporation's results were also impacted by the general
downturn in the homebuilding market. While BankAtlantic Bancorp and
Levitt Corporation anticipate their respective initiatives will
position each company for future growth and improved profitability,
the implementation of these strategies has had a negative impact on
each company's current financial results. As a long-term investor,
BFC supports its portfolio companies' decisions to build their
respective businesses with a long-term perspective and goal of
achieving sustainable earnings growth. During the quarter,
companies comprising BFC's major holdings announced several notable
developments which include: BankAtlantic Bancorp: * BankAtlantic's
'Florida's Most Convenient Bank' initiatives produced continued
growth in new customers, with 58,000 new low cost deposit accounts
opened in the second quarter of 2006, an increase of 19% over the
number of accounts opened in the corresponding 2005 quarter. At
quarter end, "total bank" and "same store" low cost deposit
balances increased 11.8% and 9.6%, respectively, over balances at
the end of the second quarter 2005. This represents a $236 million
increase in low cost deposit balances over the second quarter 2005.
Further, demand deposits rose to a record 29.2% of total deposits,
and low cost deposit balances rose to a record 58.4% of total
deposits. In addition, BankAtlantic's "same store" year-over-year
low cost deposit growth increased 9.6%, exceeding the national
trend by a margin of approximately 15%. * BankAtlantic announced
its store expansion program for the next two years, including the
anticipated opening of 20 new stores (bank branches) in 2006 and 27
new stores in 2007. To date, BankAtlantic has opened five new
stores in 2006. Each of the new stores opened in 2006 has met or
exceeded BankAtlantic's expectations for deposit growth and each
has made encouraging progress in incremental contribution. *
BankAtlantic recently announced the expansion of its fleet of
Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) on the world's largest cruise
ship, Royal Caribbean International's Freedom of the Seas.
BankAtlantic now operates 95 ATMs on vessels, cruising virtually
the seven seas with the major cruise lines including Royal
Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Carnival Cruise Lines,
Princess Cruise Lines and Cunard Cruise Lines. In addition to its
maritime fleet of ATMs, BankAtlantic operates its own proprietary
network of over 250 land-based ATMs throughout its footprint in
Florida, including ATMs located in Native American gaming casinos.
Levitt Corporation: * Levitt and Sons(R) continued its homebuilding
activities in the Orlando, Florida market by opening 2
family-oriented lifestyle communities called "Turtle Creek" and
"The Reserve at Sanford." Turtle Creek's first phase will comprise
433 single-family residences and town homes. The Reserve at Sanford
offers 129 town homes with two different floor plan varieties.
Levitt and Sons also opened its second community in the Atlanta
region, Seasons at Lake Lanier. Seasons at Lake Lanier is a gated
active adult community offering 722 homes on approximately 410
acres fronting Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia. * Levitt
management has announced that it believes the company is making
substantial progress in improving production efficiency, customer
focus and quality controls, its operational platform and sales and
marketing competencies. Levitt continues to offer an outstanding
portfolio of active adult and family communities, which are
expected to position the company well for future profitability and
growth when the housing market improves. * Bluegreen Corporation,
31% of which is owned by Levitt Corporation, announced sales of
$141.9 million and net income of $6.6 million for the 2006 second
quarter, versus sales and net income for the 2005 second quarter of
$159.3 million and $14.9 million, respectively. Effective January
1, 2006, Bluegreen was required to adopt the American Institute of
Certified Public Accountants' Statement of Position 04-2,
"Accounting for Real Estate Time- Sharing Transactions (the "SOP"),
which changed the rules for many aspects of timeshare accounting,
including revenue recognition, inventory costing and incidental
operations. As expected and previously announced by Bluegreen, the
adoption of the new accounting regulations adversely impacted
Bluegreen's results for the second quarter of 2006, primarily as a
result of deferring revenues until subsequent periods. On a pro
forma, non-GAAP basis excluding the impact of the SOP, total sales
and net income in the second quarter of 2006 were $163.9 million
and $12.7 million, respectively, versus the comparable 2005
period's sales and net income of $159.3 million and $14.9 million,
respectively. Benihana, Inc.: BFC has also been pleased with its
investment in Benihana, Inc., the renowned Asian-themed restaurant
chain. * Benihana reported a 9.2% increase in company-wide
comparable restaurant sales for the sixteen-week period ended July
16, 2006. Total restaurant sales increased 7.9% to $79.4 million
from $73.6 million last year. For its fiscal first quarter of 2007,
comparable restaurant sales for the Benihana teppanyaki
restaurants, which accounted for approximately 74% of consolidated
restaurant sales, increased 7.7%. In addition, Benihana announced
that comparable restaurant sales rose 18.6% at RA Sushi and 10.6%
at Haru, with eight and seven restaurants, respectively in their
comparable restaurant base. Benihana considers restaurants in
operation twelve months or longer to be a part of the comparable
restaurant base. * Benihana continues to grow its Japanese-themed
restaurant concepts with its 75 restaurants nationwide, including
57 Benihana teppanyaki restaurants, seven Haru sushi restaurants
and eleven RA Sushi Bar restaurants. Benihana has reported that it
has nine restaurants -- three Benihana teppanyaki restaurants, one
Haru restaurant and five RA Sushi restaurants currently under
development. * BFC's purchases in 2004 and 2005 of an aggregate of
800,000 shares of Benihana Convertible Preferred Stock represents
an investment by BFC of $20 million which, based on NASDAQ closing
stock price as of June 30, 2006 was convertible into $28.7 million
of Benihana Common Stock. The underlying closing price of the
common stock will, of course, fluctuate from time to time. Our
holdings in Benihana upon conversion would represent approximately
25% of Benihana's voting common stock and 10% of Benihana's
outstanding equity interest and, as such, BFC does not recognize
any of the earnings of Benihana in its financial statements. On
June 22, 2006, BFC announced that its Class A common stock began
trading on the NYSE Arca exchange ("NYSE Arca") under the symbol
"BFF." BFC's Class A Common Stock had previously traded on the
NASDAQ National Market since April 2003. Results by Segment: The
following table shows net income (loss) for each segment and
earnings (loss) per share including the items discussed above for
the three months and six months ended June 30, 2006 and 2005 (in
thousands, except per share data): Three Months Ended Six Months
Ended 2006 2005 2006 2005 BFC Activities $(1,705) $(3,361) $(3,319)
$(8,183) Financial Services 8,122 24,537 14,834 44,415 Homebuilding
& real estate development (737) 6,052 (1,397) 35,870
Eliminations -- (699) -- (699) Income before non- controlling
interest and discontinued operations 5,680 26,529 10,118 71,403
Non-controlling interest 5,753 23,708 10,456 64,074 Income (loss)
from continuing operations (73) 2,821 (338) 7,329 Discontinued
operations -- (90) -- (198) Net (loss) income (73) 2,731 (338)
7,131 5% Preferred Stock dividends 187 187 375 375 Net (loss)
income allocable to common stock $(260) $2,544 $(713) $6,756 Basic
(loss) earnings per share from continuing operations $(0.01) $0.10
$(0.02) $0.27 Basic (loss) earnings per share from discontinued
operations $-- $-- $-- $(0.01) Basic earnings (loss) per share
$(0.01) $0.10 $(0.02) $0.26 Diluted (loss) per share from
continuing operations $(0.01) $0.08 $(0.02) $0.23 Diluted (loss)
per share from discontinued operations $-- $-- $-- $(0.01) Diluted
(loss) earnings per share $(0.01) $0.08 $(0.02) $0.22 Basic
weighted average number of common shares outstanding 33,422 26,381
33,057 26,067 Diluted weighted average number of common and common
equivalent shares outstanding 33,422 28,902 33,057 28,624 * The
"BFC Activities" segment includes BFC's real estate owned, loans
receivable that relate to previously owned properties, its
investment in Benihana Convertible Preferred Stock and other
securities and investments, including the operations of its
wholly-owned subsidiary Cypress Creek Capital, BFC's overhead and
interest expense and the financial results of a venture partnership
that BFC controls. Since BFC is a holding company whose principal
activities consist of managing investments and seeking and
evaluating potential new investments, BFC itself has no significant
direct revenue or cash-generating operations. Accordingly, the "BFC
Activities" segment will generally reflect a loss as the current
amount of dividends, interest and fees from investments do not
currently cover BFC parent company operating costs. * The
"Financial Services" segment includes BankAtlantic Bancorp and its
subsidiaries, BankAtlantic and Ryan Beck Holdings, Inc. * The
"Homebuilding & Real Estate Development" segment includes
Levitt Corporation and its subsidiaries, Levitt and Sons(R) and
Core Communities, and Levitt's investment in Bluegreen Corporation.
* "Noncontrolling Interest" is an accounting term for that portion
of a consolidated entity that is owned by others. Both BankAtlantic
Bancorp and Levitt Corporation are consolidated in BFC's financial
statements because of BFC's voting control ownership position in
each of those companies, even though BFC's equity ownership is less
than a majority in each entity. At June 30, 2006, BFC owned 21.6%
of the economic interest and held 54.8% of the voting control of
BankAtlantic Bancorp and 16.6% of the economic interest and 52.9%
of the voting control of Levitt Corporation. Shareholders' Equity
or Book Value: Shareholders' equity or book value decreased from
$183 million as of December 31, 2005 to $178 million as of June 30,
2006. This decrease was primarily due to the retirement of Common
Stock relating to the exercise of stock options, the net loss for
the six months ended June 30, 2006, the effects of subsidiaries'
capital transactions and cash dividends on the 5% Cumulative
Convertible Preferred Stock partially offset by the issuance of
common stock upon the exercise of stock options and the tax effect
of the exercise of stock options. Market Value of BankAtlantic
Bancorp and Levitt Corporation: BFC's holdings include 13.2 million
shares of common stock of BankAtlantic Bancorp and 3.3 million
shares of common stock of Levitt Corporation. The market value of
BFC's holdings in these two companies, based upon NYSE closing
prices, which will fluctuate from time to time, was $249 million at
June 30, 2006. BFC also owns 800,000 shares of Convertible
Preferred Stock in Benihana, Inc., which is convertible into
approximately 1.1 million shares of Common Stock. Based on the
closing price of Benihana, BFC's investment, if converted, was
worth $29 million as of June 30, 2006. Other: BFC's quarterly
report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006 contains
additional information and is expected to be filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission on August 9, 2006. The Form 10-Q
for the quarter ended June 30, 2006 will be posted on BFC's
website, which can be accessed via http://www.bfcfinancial.com/ .
About BFC Financial Corporation: BFC Financial Corporation (NYSE
Arca: BFF) is a diversified holding company that invests in and
acquires private and public companies in different industries. BFC
is typically a long-term, "buy and hold" investor whose direct and
indirect, diverse ownership interests span a variety of business
sectors, including consumer and commercial banking; brokerage and
investment banking services; homebuilding; development of
master-planned communities; the hospitality and leisure sector
through the development, marketing and sales of vacation resorts on
a time-share, vacation club model; the restaurant and family dining
business, and real estate investment banking and investment
services. BFC's current holdings include BankAtlantic Bancorp and
its subsidiaries, BankAtlantic and Ryan Beck Holdings, Inc.; Levitt
Corporation, which includes its subsidiaries Levitt and Sons(R),
Core Communities and its 31% ownership in Bluegreen Corporation; a
minority interest in the renowned national restaurant chain,
Benihana, Inc., and Cypress Creek Capital, a wholly-owned
subsidiary. For further information, please visit our website at:
http://www.bfcfinancial.com/ . To receive future news releases or
announcements directly via Email, please click on the Email
Broadcast Sign Up button. BFC Contact Info: Investor and Corporate
Communications: Sharon Lyn, Vice President Email: Investor
Relations: Leo Hinkley, Senior Vice President Email: Mailing
Address and Telephone: BFC Financial Corporation Attn: Investor
Relations 2100 West Cypress Creek Road Fort Lauderdale, FL 33309
Phone: (954) 940-4994 Fax: (954) 940-5320 Matters discussed in this
press release may contain forward-looking statements within the
meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially
from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the
forward-looking statements contained herein. Past performance is no
indication of current or future results. These forward-looking
statements are based largely on the expectations of BFC and are
subject to a number of risks and uncertainties that are subject to
change based on factors which are, in many instances, beyond the
Company's control including the risks and uncertainties with
respect to its current investments and any future investments, that
sufficient resources may not be available to make desired
investments or acquisitions, that the expansion, strategic plans
and initiatives pursued by its portfolio companies may not be
successful, and those disclosed in the Company's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission. Moreover, this press release
contains only summary and partial financial data for the periods in
question. More complete information is contained in our 2005 Annual
Report on Form 10-K and BFC's quarterly reports on Form 10-Q filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission and available on BFC's
website at http://www.bfcfinancial.com/ . Additional information
relating to BFC's publicly-traded portfolio companies, including
the risks and uncertainties relating to their respective
businesses, is contained in reports filed by those companies with
the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.sec.gov/ .
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050714/FLTH001LOGO
http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: BFC Financial Corporation
CONTACT: Investor and Corporate Communications, Sharon Lyn, Vice
President, , or Investor Relations, Leo Hinkley, Senior Vice
President, , both of BFC Financial Corporation, +1-954-940-4994 Web
site: http://www.bfcfinancial.com/
Copyright