RED BANK, NJ-In another sign of the difficulties facing the residential sector, homebuilder Hovnanian Enterprises registered a Q4 loss of $469 million for the period ending October 31, which factors out to $7.42 per share. Those numbers compare to a $118 million and $1.88 per share a year earlier.
Company officials cite the larger problems in the US housing sector for the results. The quarterly results also include pre-tax charges of $383 million for the lower value of land and inventory and other items, as well as a tax expense instead of an expected tax benefit.
"The company is focused on reducing debt and inventories [and] controlling costs," says CEO Ara Hovnanian, in a statement. "We know that stronger demand for new homes will return. What is not known is how long the market will take to rebound."
The company also reports that net sales contracts in Q4 dropped by 10% to 2,781 homes. Unit sales were off by 19% to 3,969 homes, and contracts were cancelled at a rate of 40%. Final FY results are pending.
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