Hovnanian Revenue Dips 15% In Q3, But Shares Jump More Than 13% On Upbeat Outlook

Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. HOV reported third-quarter (Q3) for fiscal year 2023 revenue of $649.96 million, down 15.3% Y/Y.

EPS for the quarter declined to $7.38 from $10.82 a year earlier.

As of quarter end, the contract backlog fell 20.8% Y/Y to $1.64 billion. 

Homebuilding gross margin percentage, after the cost of sales interest expense and land charges, contracted to 20.1% from 23.1% in the year-ago period. 

EBITDA was $104.5 million in Q3 compared to $145.5 million in the year-ago period.

The company held $325.18 million in cash and equivalents at the end of Q3. 

As of July 31, the consolidated community count decreased to 102 communities, compared with 108 communities on July 31, 2022.

Outlook Raised: For FY23, HOV projects total revenues of $2.60 billion-$2.70 billion (prior view: $2.50 billion-$2.65 billion).

The company expects fully diluted earnings per share between $21-$24 (prior view: $17-$20).

Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be between $350 million-$370 million (prior view: $320 million-$340 million).

"Given the strength in the housing market today, we are encouraged that looking forward we believe our year-over-year comparisons for the first quarter of fiscal 2024 should show significant improvements," said CEO Ara K. Hovnanian said.

Price Action: HOV shares traded higher by 13.23% at $113.80 on the last check Wednesday.