COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- M/I Homes, Inc.(NYSE:MHO)announced results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008.

The Company recorded a net loss for the quarter ended March 31, 2008 of $22.2 million, or $1.58 per common share, which included pre-tax charges totaling $22.3 million, or $0.98 per share, for impairments and write-offs recorded in connection with its land inventory. The Company recorded net income of $2.2 million, or $0.16 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2007, which included $2.2 million or $0.10 per diluted share of similar pre-tax charges.

New contracts and homes delivered for the first quarter of 2008 were 554 and 450, respectively, compared to new contracts of 931 and homes delivered of 686 for the first quarter of 2007. Backlog of homes at March 31, 2008 had a sales value of $243 million, with an average sales price of $297,000 and backlog units of 816. Backlog of homes at March 31, 2007 had a sales value of 543 million, with an average sales price of $323,000 and backlog units were 1,678. M/I Homes had 148 active communities at March 31, 2008 compared to 161 at March 31, 2007.

Robert H. Schottenstein, Chief Executive Officer and President, commented, "Our first quarter results reflect the difficult and challenging conditions facing the homebuilding industry. While margins and earnings remain under pressure, we continue to make progress in a number of important areas. Specifically, we reduced our owned lot count by 10% during the quarter -- on top of the 30% lot reduction in 2007. Additionally, we generated $99 million of cash during the quarter resulting in a further reduction of our homebuilding bank borrowings from $115 million at December 31, 2007 to $42 million at March 31, 2008. Our debt to capital ratio at quarter's end stands at 31% and represents one of the lowest debt levels in our industry. And, we remain on target to reduce the borrowings on our credit facility to zero by year end."