Exhibit 99.1
NOBILITY HOMES, INC. ANNOUNCES INCREASED SALES AND EARNINGS FOR ITS FIRST QUARTER 2019
Ocala, FL…March 8, 2019 - Today Nobility Homes, Inc. (OTCQX: NOBH) announced increased sales and earnings for its first quarter ended February 2, 2019. Sales for the first quarter of 2019 were up 14% to $11,039,774 as compared to $9,645,818 recorded in the first quarter of 2018. Income from operations for the first quarter of 2019 was up 63% to $1,771,831 versus $1,090,157 in the same period a year ago. Net income after taxes was $1,535,806 as compared to $1,016,236 for the same period last year. Diluted earnings per share for the first quarter of 2019 were $0.40 per share compared to $0.25 per share last year.
Nobility’s financial position during the first quarter 2019 remains very strong with cash and cash equivalents, certificates of deposit and short term investments of $34,607,512 and no outstanding debt. Working capital is $39,500,850 and our ratio of current assets to current liabilities is 6.4:1. Stockholders’ equity is $50,586,516 and the book value per share of common stock increased to $13.06.
The Board of Directors declared aone-time cash dividend of $1.00 per common share for fiscal year 2018. The cash dividend is payable on March 29, 2019 to stockholders of record as of March 15, 2019. Nobility Homes has distributedone-time cash dividends of $.15 and $.20 in fiscal years ending 2016 and 2017, respectively.
The Company has no defined dividend policy. The Board of Directors maintains the authority to declare distributions at their discretion. The Board performs a thorough and extensive evaluation of the Company’s balance sheet, cash flow, operating performance, and future earnings prospects when considering the declaration of any common dividend.
Terry Trexler, President, stated, “The demand for affordable manufactured housing in Florida and the U.S. continues to improve. According to the Florida Manufactured Housing Association, shipments in Florida for the period from November 2018 through January 2019 were up approximately 40% from the same period last year. Constrained consumer credit and the lack of lenders in our industry, partly as a result of an increase in government regulations, still affects our results by limiting many affordable manufactured housing buyers from purchasing homes. However, recent legislation may help improve this situation in the future.
Maintaining our strong financial position is vital for future growth and success. Because of very challenging business conditions during economic recessions in our market area, management will continue to evaluate all expenses and react in a manner consistent with maintaining our strong financial position, while exploring opportunities to expand our distribution and manufacturing operations. We are pleased that the Board of Directors has chosen to share our Company’s success with its shareholders in the form of another annual cash dividend.
Our many years of experience in the Florida market, combined with home buyers’ increased need for more affordable housing, should serve the Company well in the coming years. Management remains convinced that our specific geographic market is one of the best long-term growth areas in the country”.
On June 5, 2019 the Company will celebrated its 52nd anniversary in business specializing in the design and production of quality, affordable manufactured homes. With multiple retail sales centers, an insurance agency subsidiary, and an investment in a retirement manufactured home community, we are the only vertically integrated manufactured home company headquartered in Florida.
MANAGEMENT WILL NOT HOLD A CONFERENCE CALL. IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, PLEASE CALL TERRY OR TOM TREXLER @800-476-6624 EXT 221 ORTERRY@NOBILITYHOMES.COM ORTOM@NOBILITYHOMES.COM
Certain statements in this report are unaudited or forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Although Nobility believes that the amounts and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, there are risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from expectations. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, competitive pricing pressures at both the wholesale and retail levels, increasing material costs, continued excess retail inventory, increase in repossessions, changes in market demand, changes in interest rates, availability of financing for retail and wholesale purchasers, consumer confidence, adverse weather conditions that reduce sales at retail centers, the risk of manufacturing plant shutdowns due to storms or other factors, the impact of marketing and cost-management programs, reliance on the Florida economy, impact of labor shortage, impact of materials shortage, increasing labor cost, cyclical nature of the manufactured housing industry, impact of rising fuel costs, catastrophic events impacting insurance costs, availability of insurance coverage for various risks to Nobility, market demographics, management’s ability to attract and retain executive officers and key personnel, increased global tensions, market disruptions resulting from terrorist or other attack and any armed conflict involving the United States and the impact of inflation.
