Exhibit 99.1
HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES, INC. | News Release |
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| Contact: | Brad G. O’Connor | Jeffrey T. O’Keefe |
| | Chief Financial Officer & Treasurer | Vice President, Investor Relations |
| | 732-747-7800 | 732-747-7800 |
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HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES REPORTS FISCAL 2024 FIRST QUARTER RESULTS
Net Contracts per Community Increased 48% Year-Over-Year
Income Before Income Taxes Increased 80% Year-Over-Year
$230 Million was the Highest Quarterly Land and Land Development Spend in 57 Quarters
15% Year-Over-Year Growth in Total Revenues
MATAWAN, NJ, February 22, 2024 – Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: HOV), a leading national homebuilder, reported results for its fiscal first quarter ended January 31, 2024.
RESULTS FOR THE THREE-MONTHS ENDED JANUARY 31, 2024:
- Total revenues increased 15.3% to $594.2 million (including 1,063 deliveries) in the first quarter of fiscal 2024, compared with $515.4 million (including 938 deliveries) in the same quarter of the prior year.
- Domestic unconsolidated joint venture deliveries for the first quarter of 2024 increased 56.1% to 167 homes compared with 107 homes for the three months ended January 31, 2023.
- Homebuilding gross margin percentage, after cost of sales interest expense and land charges, was 18.3% for the three months ended January 31, 2024, compared with 18.7% during the first quarter a year ago.
- Homebuilding gross margin percentage, before cost of sales interest expense and land charges, was 21.8% in both the fiscal 2024 and fiscal 2023 first quarters.
- Total SG&A was $86.1 million, or 14.5% of total revenues, in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. Excluding $7.5 million of incremental phantom stock expense, total SG&A would have been $78.6 million or 13.2% of total revenues, in the first quarter of fiscal 2024. Total SG&A, in the first quarter of fiscal 2023 was $73.4 million, or 14.2% of total revenues. Excluding $1.4 million of incremental phantom stock expense, total SG&A would have been $72.0 million or 14.0% of total revenues, in the previous year’s first quarter.
- Total interest expense as a percent of total revenues was 5.1% for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared with 5.8% for the first quarter of fiscal 2023.
- Income before income taxes for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 increased 80.4% to $32.6 million compared with $18.0 million in the first quarter of the prior fiscal year.
- For the first quarter of fiscal 2024, income before income taxes excluding $7.5 million of incremental phantom stock expense would have been $40.1 million. Income before income taxes excluding $1.4 million of incremental phantom stock expense, would have been $19.4 million in the first quarter of fiscal 2023.
- Net income was $23.9 million, or $2.91 per diluted common share, for the three months ended January 31, 2024, compared with net income of $18.7 million, or $2.26 per diluted common share, in the same period of the previous fiscal year.
- EBITDA increased 30.1% to $64.5 million for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared with $49.6 million for the first quarter of the prior year.
- Consolidated contracts in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 increased 43.0% to 1,127 homes ($624.4 million) compared with 788 homes ($415.1 million) in the same quarter last year. Contracts, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures1, for the three months ended January 31, 2024, increased 43.2% to 1,279 homes ($724.5 million) compared with 893 homes ($486.8 million) in the first quarter of fiscal 2023.
- As of January 31, 2024, consolidated community count was 118 communities, compared with 113 communities at October 31, 2023 and 121 communities on January 31, 2023. Community count, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures, was 135 as of January 31, 2024, compared with 129 communities at October 31, 2023 and 132 communities at the end of the first quarter of the prior fiscal year.
- Consolidated contracts per community increased 47.7% year-over-year to 9.6 in the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared with 6.5 contracts per community for the first quarter of fiscal 2023. Contracts per community, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures, increased 39.7% to 9.5 in the three months ended January 31, 2024, compared with 6.8 contracts per community in the same quarter one year ago.
- The dollar value of consolidated contract backlog, as of January 31, 2024, decreased 5.6% to $1.11 billion compared with $1.18 billion as of January 31, 2023. The dollar value of contract backlog, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures, as of January 31, 2024, decreased 4.4% to $1.35 billion compared with $1.41 billion as of January 31, 2023.
- The gross contract cancellation rate for consolidated contracts was 14% for the first quarter ended January 31, 2024 compared with 30% in the fiscal 2023 first quarter. The gross contract cancellation rate for contracts, including domestic unconsolidated joint ventures, was 14% for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 compared with 29% in the first quarter of the prior year.
- For the trailing twelve-month period our return on equity (ROE) was 40.1% and earnings before interest and income taxes return on investment (EBIT ROI) was 32.6%. We believe for the most recently reported trailing twelve-month periods, we had the highest ROE and the third highest EBIT ROI compared to 15 of our publicly traded peers.
(1)When we refer to “Domestic Unconsolidated Joint Ventures”, we are excluding results from our multi-community unconsolidated joint venture in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA).
LIQUIDITY AND INVENTORY AS OF JANUARY 31, 2024:
- During the first quarter of fiscal 2024, land and land development spending was $230.4 million compared with $134.4 million in the same quarter one year ago. This is the highest amount of quarterly land and land development spend since we started reporting it in fiscal 2010.
- Total liquidity as of January 31, 2024 was $313.1 million, above our targeted liquidity range of $170 million to $245 million.
- In the first quarter of fiscal 2024, approximately 3,800 lots were put under option or acquired in 43 consolidated communities.
- As of January 31, 2024, our total controlled consolidated lots were 33,576, an increase compared with both 29,123 lots at the end of the first quarter of the previous year and 31,726 lots at October 31, 2023. Based on trailing twelve-month deliveries, the current position equaled a 6.7 years’ supply.
FINANCIAL GUIDANCE(2):
The Company is providing guidance for total revenues, adjusted homebuilding gross margin, adjusted income before income taxes and adjusted EBITDA for the second quarter of fiscal 2024. Financial guidance below assumes no adverse changes in current market conditions, including further deterioration in our supply chain or material increases in mortgage rates, inflation or cancellation rates, and excludes further impact to SG&A expenses from phantom stock expense related solely to stock price movements from the closing price of $168.97 on January 31, 2024.
For the second quarter of fiscal 2024, total revenues are expected to be between $675 million and $775 million, adjusted homebuilding gross margin is expected to be between 21.5% and 23.0%, adjusted income before income taxes is expected to be between $45 million and $55 million and adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $80 million and $90 million.
(2)The Company cannot provide a reconciliation between its non-GAAP projections and the most directly comparable GAAP measures without unreasonable efforts because it is unable to predict with reasonable certainty the ultimate outcome of certain significant items required for the reconciliation. These items include, but are not limited to, land-related charges, inventory impairments and land option write-offs and loss (gain) on extinguishment of debt, net. These items are uncertain, depend on various factors and could have a material impact on GAAP reported results.
COMMENTS FROM MANAGEMENT:
“We are off to a solid start to fiscal 2024, with 80% year over year growth in our income before income taxes for the first quarter. Excluding incremental phantom stock expense, we were at or above the high end of the guidance range for our first quarter total revenues, adjusted income before income taxes and adjusted EBITDA,” stated Ara K. Hovnanian, Chairman of the Board, President and Chief Executive Officer. “Along with the growth in profitability, the past few months have drawn attention to the relative strength of demand for new homes, which can best be exemplified by our 48% growth in consolidated contracts per community during the first quarter of fiscal 2024. Total internet leads in January 2024 increased 16% year over year and 43% from December 2023, giving us confidence that demand remains strong. There are many factors that underpin the current levels of demand, including the downward trend in mortgage rates, the tightness of existing homes for sale, favorable signs from the employment market and overall growth in the broader economy.”
“Despite those encouraging developments, affordability remains challenging, and we continue to offer mortgage rate buydowns in order to make our homes more affordable to homebuyers,” said Mr. Hovnanian. “As demonstrated by reducing debt for several years and refinancing much of our remaining debt last fall, we remain committed to repairing our balance sheet. However, we are now in a position where we can also focus on growing our revenues and achieving higher levels of profitability. All these positive trends impacting our company and our industry leave us optimistic of the trajectory of the 2024 spring selling season over the short term and the general direction of the housing market over the longer term.”
WEBCAST INFORMATION:
Hovnanian Enterprises will webcast its fiscal 2024 first quarter financial results conference call at 11:00 a.m. E.T. on Thursday, February 22, 2024. The webcast can be accessed live through the “Investor Relations” section of Hovnanian Enterprises’ website at http://www.khov.com. For those who are not available to listen to the live webcast, an archive of the broadcast will be available under the “Past Events” section of the Investor Relations page on the Hovnanian website at http://www.khov.com. The archive will be available for 12 months.
ABOUT HOVNANIAN ENTERPRISES, INC.:
Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc., founded in 1959 by Kevork S. Hovnanian, is headquartered in Matawan, New Jersey and, through its subsidiaries, is one of the nation’s largest homebuilders with operations in Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia. The Company’s homes are marketed and sold under the trade name K. Hovnanian Homes. Additionally, the Company’s subsidiaries, as developers of K. Hovnanian’s Four Seasons communities, make the Company one of the nation’s largest builders of active lifestyle communities.
Additional information on Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. can be accessed through the “Investor Relations” section of the Hovnanian Enterprises’ website at http://www.khov.com. To be added to Hovnanian's investor e-mail list, please send an e-mail to IR@khov.com or sign up at http://www.khov.com.
NON-GAAP FINANCIAL MEASURES:
Consolidated earnings before interest expense and income taxes (“EBIT”) and before depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) and before inventory impairments and land option write-offs and gain on extinguishment of debt, net (“Adjusted EBITDA”) are not U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) financial measures. The most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is net income. The reconciliation for historical periods of EBIT, EBITDA and Adjusted EBITDA to net income is presented in a table attached to this earnings release.
Homebuilding gross margin, before cost of sales interest expense and land charges, and homebuilding gross margin percentage, before cost of sales interest expense and land charges, are non-GAAP financial measures. The most directly comparable GAAP financial measures are homebuilding gross margin and homebuilding gross margin percentage, respectively. The reconciliation for historical periods of homebuilding gross margin, before cost of sales interest expense and land charges, and homebuilding gross margin percentage, before cost of sales interest expense and land charges, to homebuilding gross margin and homebuilding gross margin percentage, respectively, is presented in a table attached to this earnings release.
Adjusted income before income taxes, which is defined as income before income taxes excluding land-related charges and gain on extinguishment of debt, net is a non-GAAP financial measure. The most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is income before income taxes. The reconciliation for historical periods of adjusted income before income taxes to income before income taxes is presented in a table attached to this earnings release.
SG&A excluding the impact of incremental phantom stock expense is a non-GAAP financial measure. The most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is SG&A, to which SG&A excluding the impact of incremental phantom stock expense is reconciled herein.
Income before income taxes excluding the impact of incremental phantom stock expense is a non-GAAP financial measure. The most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is income before income taxes, to which income before income taxes excluding the impact of incremental phantom stock expense is reconciled herein.
Total liquidity is comprised of $183.1 million of cash and cash equivalents, $5.0 million of restricted cash required to collateralize letters of credit and $125.0 million availability under the senior secured revolving credit facility as of January 31, 2024.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
All statements in this press release that are not historical facts should be considered as “Forward-Looking Statements” within the meaning of the “Safe Harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include but are not limited to statements related to the Company’s goals and expectations with respect to its financial results for future financial periods and statements regarding demand for homes, mortgage rates, inflation, supply chain issues, customer incentives and underlying factors. Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in, or suggested by, such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved. By their nature, forward-looking statements: (i) speak only as of the date they are made, (ii) are not guarantees of future performance or results and (iii) are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict or quantify. Therefore, actual results could differ materially and adversely from those forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors. Such risks, uncertainties and other factors include, but are not limited to, (1) changes in general and local economic, industry and business conditions and impacts of a significant homebuilding downturn; (2) shortages in, and price fluctuations of, raw materials and labor, including due to geopolitical events, changes in trade policies, including the imposition of tariffs and duties on homebuilding materials and products and related trade disputes with and retaliatory measures taken by other countries; (3) fluctuations in interest rates and the availability of mortgage financing, including as a result of instability in the banking sector; (4) adverse weather and other environmental conditions and natural disasters; (5) the seasonality of the Company’s business; (6) the availability and cost of suitable land and improved lots and sufficient liquidity to invest in such land and lots; (7) reliance on, and the performance of, subcontractors; (8) regional and local economic factors, including dependency on certain sectors of the economy, and employment levels affecting home prices and sales activity in the markets where the Company builds homes; (9) increases in cancellations of agreements of sale; (10) increases in inflation; (11) changes in tax laws affecting the after-tax costs of owning a home; (12) legal claims brought against us and not resolved in our favor, such as product liability litigation, warranty claims and claims made by mortgage investors; (13) levels of competition; (14) utility shortages and outages or rate fluctuations; (15) information technology failures and data security breaches; (16) negative publicity; (17) high leverage and restrictions on the Company’s operations and activities imposed by the agreements governing the Company’s outstanding indebtedness; (18) availability and terms of financing to the Company; (19) the Company’s sources of liquidity; (20) changes in credit ratings; (21) government regulation, including regulations concerning development of land, the home building, sales and customer financing processes, tax laws and the environment; (22) operations through unconsolidated joint ventures with third parties; (23) significant influence of the Company’s controlling stockholders; (24) availability of net operating loss carryforwards; (25) loss of key management personnel or failure to attract qualified personnel; (26) public health issues such as major epidemic or pandemic; and (27) certain risks, uncertainties and other factors described in detail in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2023 and the Company’s Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the quarterly periods during fiscal 2023 and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities laws, we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changed circumstances or any other reason.
