Hovnanian Q2 Loss Is $203M

RED BANK, NJ-Hovnanian Enterprises, the state’s largest homebuilder, once posted nine straight years of positive quarterly numbers. But reflecting national homebuilding woes, the company has now had eight straight quarters of losses, with the just-released Q2 net loss hitting the $202.5-million mark, or $2.67 per share.

According to numbers released by the company, that loss for the three months ended July 31 increased from a loss of $77.9 million, or $1.27 per share, a year earlier. Revenues fell to $716.5 million from $1.13 billion for the year-earlier period.

“As we continue to compete against record foreclosures, higher than normal levels of resale listings and poor consumer confidence, the housing market remains challenging,” says president and CEO Ara Hovnanian, in a statement. “Despite disappointing operating losses, we successfully generated cash during the third quarter and remain on track to end our fiscal year with approximately $800 million of homebuilding cash.

“We remain focused on generating sufficient liquidity to both weather this housing downturn and to take advantage of opportunities at the bottom of this housing cycle,” Hovnanian says. “The recently enacted $7,500 federal tax credit for first-time homebuyers should help spur some short-term demand, but more importantly, the fundamentals that drive long-term homebuilding demand, particularly expectations for household formation, are stronger than ever.”