The St Joe company reported results yesterday evening. "Despite a spate of hurricanes, St. Joe Co. officials said they had an increased net profit in 2005, but expect the coming year to bring flatter sales and fewer speculative buyers. 'We do not expect the fevered market of the past couple of years,' said Peter Rummell, chairman and CEO of St. Joe, which owns more than 800,000 acres in Florida, most of it in the Panhandle."

"If anything, Rummell said, 'some of the speculators may have exited the market.'"

"Rummell acknowledged sales had slowed in the last six months of the year. Hurricanes and a general slowing of the housing market were key factors, particularly in resort areas in the Panhandle, he said. In all, St. Joe had 43,716 acres in various stages of development across the state, with about 9,000 units of more than 39,000 planned residential units sold or under construction."

And from the firms press release. "'We are pleased with our 2005 performance, especially considering the challenges we faced in the third and fourth quarters,' said Rummell. 'Traffic and sales activity did slow in the third and fourth quarters, particularly in our resort residential projects. We are looking forward to the spring market with cautious optimism,' said Rummell. 'However, resort sales have remained slow thus far in the first quarter.'"

"'We have remained disciplined in a slowing market, and I believe our discipline will benefit those investing in JOE for the long-term. We see a market returning to a more sustainable growth pattern going forward. Many developers might feel pressure to do any deal they could in a slowing market,' said Rummell. 'But because of JOE’s unique advantages, including essentially no holding costs for our low-basis land, we don’t succumb to such pressure. Unlike many developers, we are not a prisoner of land priced at retail and often financed with debt.'"

"In the fourth quarter of 2005, JOE sold 9,110 acres of rural land at an average price of $2,712 per acre, compared to 3,369 acres for an average price of $5,105 per acre in the same quarter a year ago. For the year ended 2005, JOE sold 28,958 acres of rural land at an average price of $2,378 per acre, compared with 20,175 acres of rural land at an average price of $3,372 per acre in 2004."

"'The rural land buyer profile continues to shift away from neighbors in Northwest Florida to those living outside the region. Only 28 percent of our rural land customers in 2003, including those purchasing RiverCamps home sites, lived more than 120 miles from the land they purchased. By 2005 buyers from outside the region had increased to 63 percent."

"On December 31st, JOE owned approximately 838,000 acres, concentrated primarily in Northwest Florida. These holdings included approximately 338,000 acres within 10 miles of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico and approximately 500,000 acres outside the 10-mile coastal perimeter, including approximately 48,000 acres in southwest Georgia. "

"At the end of 2005, JOE had land use entitlements in hand or in process for approximately 41,700 residential units."

"Cost of sales for home sites in 2005 consisted of $25.4 million in direct costs, $3.9 million in selling costs and $3.0 million in indirect costs." The firms financials report that they sold those sites for $402 million.

"Cost of sales for homes in 2005 consisted of $375.4 million in direct costs, $27.8 million in selling costs and $37.1 million in indirect costs." St. Joe sold those homes for just under $1.8 billion."