Hovnanian Enterprises Reports 18 Percent Increase In Sales During Q4

Hovnanian Enterprises HOV reported its fourth quarter results on Wednesday. The company earned $1.95 per share in the quarter, an 829 percent increase from the same quarter a year ago while revenue of $698.40 million improved 18 percent year over year. Net income for the quarter rose to $322.5 million from $32.8 million in the same quarter a year ago as the company delivered 1,916 homes, a 5.5 percent increase from a year ago. Total deliveries for the fiscal 2014 year were 5,934 homes, compared with 5,930 homes in the prior fiscal year. Key Highlights Homebuilding gross margin percentage for the quarter fell to 19.3 percent from 22.6 percent a year ago. For the entire fiscal year, homebuilding gross margin percentage fell to 19.9 percent from 20.1 percent in the prior fiscal year. The dollar value of consolidated contract backlog increased to $855.8 million as of October 31, compared with $762.4 million at October 31, 2013. Total interest expense as a percentage of total revenues fell 140 basis points to 5.3 percent during the quarter from 6.7 percent in the same quarter a year ago. For the entire fiscal year, total interest expense as a percentage of total revenues fell 90 basis points to 6.9 percent from 7.8 percent a year ago.