Homebuilder Hovnanian loses another $450 million

From CNN Money:

Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. said Tuesday its fiscal fourth-quarter loss narrowed slightly from a year ago, but the homebuilder continued to struggle against sharp declines in new home contracts and falling land values.

After paying preferred stock dividends, the builder lost $450.5 million, or $5.79 a share, for the quarter that ended Oct. 31. That compares with a loss of $469.3 million, or $7.42 a share, in the same period last year, and marked the ninth quarterly loss in a row.

The results included $456.5 million in pretax charges, including $319.9 million in land-related charges.

Quarterly revenue fell 48% to $721.4 million.

"Since mid-September, the housing market has deteriorated in lockstep with the widening financial crisis and declines in broader economic conditions," Ara Hovnanian, president and chief executive, said in a statement.

Underscoring that point, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday that construction of single-family homes fell last month by almost 19%, the biggest drop in a quarter-century.

Wow! The company lost $450 million in the quarter, and looking at their balance sheet, their shareholder equity is $777.9 million. At that rate, perhaps they should just cease operations and give shareholders what money they can now, rather than try to survive two more quarters.