Hovnanian Q1 Loss Less Than Expected

Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: HOV), Matawan, N.J., on Thursday reported a net loss of $9.1 million, or $1.49 per common share, for its first quarter ended January 31, 2020. The loss compared with a net loss of $17.5 million, or $2.93 per common share, in the first quarter of the previous year. Analysts were expecting a loss of $2.10.

RESULTS FOR THE THREE-MONTH PERIOD ENDED JANUARY 31, 2020:

• Total revenues increased 29.8% to $494.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2020, compared with $380.6 million in the same period of the prior year.

• Home building gross margin percentage, after cost of sales interest expense and land charges, was 12.9% for the three months ended January 31, 2020 compared with 14.8% during the same quarter a year ago.

• Home building gross margin percentage, before cost of sales interest expense and land charges, was 17.3% during the fiscal 2020 first quarter compared with 17.8% in last year’s first quarter.

• Total SG&A was $60.4 million, or 12.2% of total revenues, in the fiscal 2020 first quarter compared with $60.4 million, or 15.9% of total revenues, in the previous year’s first quarter.

• Interest incurred (some of which was expensed and some of which was capitalized) was $44.3 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 compared with $38.9 million during the first quarter of fiscal 2019.

• Income from unconsolidated joint ventures was $1.5 million for the first quarter ended January 31, 2020 compared with $9.6 million in the fiscal 2019 first quarter.

• Including a $9.5 million gain on extinguishment of debt, loss before income taxes for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 was $7.4 million compared with a loss of $17.1 million in the first quarter of the prior year.

• Adjusted EBITDA increased to $30.4 million in the first quarter ended January 31, 2020 compared with $17.1 million in the same quarter one year ago. EBITDA increased to $37.0 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 compared with $16.4 million in the same quarter of the prior year.

• Loss before income taxes excluding land-related charges and gain on extinguishment of debt, was $14.1 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2020 compared with a loss before these items of $16.4 million in the fiscal 2019 first quarter.

• Consolidated contracts per community increased 42.6% to 9.7 contracts per community for the first quarter ended January 31, 2020 compared with 6.8 contracts per community in last year’s first quarter. Contracts per community, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures⁽¹⁾, increased 32.9% to 9.3 contracts per community during the first quarter of fiscal 2020 compared with 7.0 contracts per community, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures, in the same period of the prior year.

• The number of consolidated contracts increased 41.5% to 1,322 homes, during the fiscal 2020 first quarter, compared with 934 homes in last year’s first quarter. The number of contracts, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures, for the three months ended January 31, 2020, increased 40.0% to 1,492 homes from 1,066 homes during the same quarter a year ago.

• Due to stronger than expected contracts, causing us to sell through communities faster than anticipated, and after contributing four consolidated communities to unconsolidated joint ventures, the consolidated community count was 136 as of January 31, 2020, essentially unchanged compared with 137 communities at the end of the previous year’s first quarter. As of the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2020, community count, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures, was 160 communities, up 5.3% compared with 152 communities at January 31, 2019.

• For February 2020, consolidated contracts per community were 4.8 compared with 3.2 for the same month one year ago. During February 2020, the number of consolidated contracts increased 44.1% to 647 homes from 449 homes in February 2019.

• The dollar value of consolidated contract backlog, as of January 31, 2020, increased 20.0% to $899.6 million compared with $749.8 million as of January 31, 2019. The dollar value of contract backlog, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures, as of January 31, 2020, was $1.10 billion, an increase of 13.7% compared with $971.2 million as of January 31, 2019.

• Consolidated deliveries were 1,236 homes in the fiscal 2020 first quarter a 27.8% increase compared with 967 homes in the previous year’s first quarter. For the fiscal 2020 first quarter, deliveries, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures, increased 24.1% to 1,385 homes compared with 1,116 homes during the first quarter of fiscal 2019.

• The contract cancellation rate for consolidated contracts was 19% for the first quarter ended January 31, 2020 compared with 24% in the fiscal 2019 first quarter. The contract cancellation rate for contracts including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures was 19% for the first quarter of fiscal 2020 compared with 23% in the first quarter of the prior year.

⁽¹⁾When we refer to “Domestic Unconsolidated Joint Ventures”, we are excluding results from our single community unconsolidated joint venture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).

LIQUIDITY AND INVENTORY AS OF JANUARY 31, 2020:

• Total liquidity at the end of the of the first quarter of fiscal 2020 was $224.9 million.

• In the first quarter of fiscal 2020, 2,026 lots were put under option or acquired in 25 consolidated communities, which is 790 lots more than the 1,236 consolidated first quarter deliveries.

• As of January 31, 2020, consolidated lots controlled totaled 27,701; which, based on trailing twelve-month deliveries, equaled a 5.3 years’ supply.

“Both the overall U.S. economy and the current housing market continue to exhibit signs of strength. With more than 40% growth in contracts and contracts per community during the first quarter of fiscal 2020, we have seen the continuation of the positive momentum that began in the spring selling season last year,” stated Ara K. Hovnanian, chairman, president and CEO. “Furthermore, we are pleased that our revenue gains have begun to catch up to the increases in contracts that we have seen over the past six months and are also pleased with the substantial growth we reported in EBITDA. The magnitude of the improvement in our revenues gives us confidence that we are making solid progress towards achieving our revenue growth goals, which ultimately should lead to higher levels of profitability.”