Hovnanian's headquarters on West Front Street.
Red Bank-based Hovnanian Enterprises sharply cut its net loss in the quarter ended April 30, compared to year-prior levels.
But the publicly traded homebuilder continued to slash prices in the face of contract cancellations and write-downs on the value of real estate in its inventory.
From an Associated Press report:
sales price on new-home contracts declined about 7 percent from a year
ago, to $279,448.
The discounts forced the builder to absorb
$318.9 million in pretax charges to reflect the falling value of land
and other assets, eating away at its bottom line.
For the
quarter, the company lost $118.6 million, or $1.50 a share. That
compares with a loss of $340.7 million, or $5.29 a share, a year
earlier.
second quarter of Hovnanians fiscal year, fell by 49 percent, to $398
million.
Reuters reports that the smaller loss was due chiefly to a gain on the early extinguishment of debt and a tax benefit.
