May 26, 2022 16:05 ET | Source: Cavco Industries, Inc. Cavco Industries, Inc.
PHOENIX, May 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cavco Industries, Inc. (Nasdaq: CVCO) today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended April 2, 2022 and provided updates on other business items. The current fiscal year includes 52 weeks while fiscal year 2021 contained 53 weeks, with the extra week falling in the fourth quarter.
On September 24, 2021, we completed the acquisition of certain assets and liabilities of The Commodore Corporation ("Commodore"), which operates six manufacturing plants and two retail locations. Since the acquisition date, the results of Commodore are included in Cavco's consolidated financial statements.
"We are extremely proud of the successful year that all of our operations have had. Our manufacturing teams have found innovative ways to increase manufacturing output and efficiencies, and plant for plant, we are producing more homes than before the pandemic, despite continuing labor and supply challenges. We also continue to deliver on projects designed to further expand our manufacturing capabilities, including two new manufacturing facilities that are expected to open later this year," said Bill Boor, President and Chief Executive Officer.
Mr. Boor continued, "Demand for our homes continues to be strong, despite the recent rise in interest rates. As an affordable home builder, we can provide the potential of home ownership that many people aspire to achieve. With these rising interest rates and other inflationary pressures, we believe that our products become more attractive to other forms of home ownership. That is why we continually strive to increase the number of homes we build and deliver on our commitment to provide high-quality, energy-efficient and affordable homes to our customers."
Three months ended April 2, 2022 compared to three months ended April 3, 2021
Items ancillary to our core operations had the following impact on the results of operations:
Twelve months ended April 2, 2022 compared to twelve months ended April 3, 2021
Items ancillary to our core operations had the following impact on the results of operations:
Housing Demand and Production Updates
Housing demand remains strong as qualified individuals continue pursuing affordable home-ownership. Home order rates have moderated from the extreme highs we saw during the summer of 2020 to the summer of 2021, but still remain above pre-pandemic rates, which we considered to be strong. Our backlogs at April 2, 2022 were $1.1 billion, compared to $603 million at April 3, 2021. The year over year increase includes $264 million attributable to Commodore.
Although we continue to experience hiring challenges and other inefficiencies from building material supply disruptions, we have reduced our total open production positions by nearly 25% over the past year, bringing our total average plant capacity utilization rate to exceeding 80% during the fourth fiscal quarter of 2022, which is above pre-pandemic levels.
On May 25, 2022, the Company's Board of Directors approved a new $100 million stock repurchase program that may be used to purchase its outstanding common stock. The previous program that was approved on October 27, 2020 has now been fully utilized, with the remaining $39 million being repurchased in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023.
The purchases may be made in the open market or one or more privately negotiated transactions in compliance with applicable securities laws and other legal requirements. The actual timing, number and value of shares repurchased under the program will be determined by the Company in its discretion and will depend on a number of factors, including market conditions, applicable legal requirements and other strategic capital needs and opportunities. The plan does not obligate Cavco to acquire any particular amount of common stock and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. The Company expects to finance the program from existing cash resources.
"When the previous authorization was announced, we said that it would not limit our strategic investments. We are pleased to have now returned $100 million of value directly to our stockholders in a little over a year, while investing approximately $200 million into growing and improving our operations," said Mr. Boor. He continued, "As before, our priorities for capital remain unchanged. This newly authorized plan will allow us to continue to return value to our shareholders without compromising our ability to create long-term value, as we still seek out additional investment opportunities."
Cavco's management will hold a conference call to review these results tomorrow, May 27, 2022, at 1:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). Interested parties can access a live webcast of the conference call on the Internet at https://investor.cavco.com or via telephone at + 1 (844) 348-1686 (domestic) or + 1 (213) 358-0891 (international). An archive of the webcast and presentation will be available for 60 days at https://investor.cavco.com.
Cavco Industries, Inc., headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, designs and produces factory-built housing products primarily distributed through a network of independent and Company-owned retailers. We are one of the largest producers of manufactured and modular homes in the United States, based on reported wholesale shipments. Our products are marketed under a variety of brand names including Cavco, Fleetwood, Palm Harbor, Nationwide, Fairmont, Friendship, Chariot Eagle, Destiny, Commodore, Colony, Pennwest, R-Anell, Manorwood and MidCountry. We are also a leading producer of park model RVs, vacation cabins and factory-built commercial structures. Cavco's finance subsidiary, CountryPlace Mortgage, is an approved Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac seller/servicer and a Ginnie Mae mortgage-backed securities issuer that offers conforming mortgages, non-conforming mortgages and home-only loans to purchasers of factory-built homes. Our insurance subsidiary, Standard Casualty, provides property and casualty insurance to owners of manufactured homes.
Certain statements contained in this release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. In general, all statements that are not historical in nature are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are typically included, for example, in discussions regarding the manufactured housing industry; our financial performance and operating results; and the expected effect of certain risks and uncertainties on our business, financial condition and results of operations. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. As a result, our actual results or performance may differ materially from anticipated results or performance. Factors that could cause such differences to occur include, but are not limited to: the impact of local or national emergencies including the COVID-19 pandemic, including such impacts from state and federal regulatory action that restricts our ability to operate our business in the ordinary course and impacts on (i) customer demand and the availability of financing for our products, (ii) our supply chain and the availability of raw materials for the manufacture of our products, (iii) the availability of labor and the health and safety of our workforce and (iv) our liquidity and access to the capital markets; labor shortages and the pricing and availability of raw materials; increased health and safety incidents; our ability to negotiate reasonable collective bargaining agreements with the unions representing certain employees; increases in the rate of cancellations of home sales orders; our ability to successfully integrate past acquisitions or future acquisitions and the ability to attain the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions; involvement in vertically integrated lines of business, including manufactured housing consumer finance, commercial finance and insurance; information technology failures or cyber incidents which may compromise the security of personally identifiable information of our customers, suppliers and employees; our participation in certain financing programs for the purchase of our products by industry distributors and consumers, which may expose us to additional risk of credit loss; our reliance on third party providers of goods and services may expose us to significant warranty and construction defect claims; our contingent repurchase obligations related to wholesale financing provided to industry distributors; a write-off of all or part of our goodwill; our ability to maintain relationships with independent distributors; our business and operations being concentrated in certain geographic regions; governmental and regulatory disruption, including prolonged delays by Congress and the President to approve budgets or continuing appropriations resolutions to facilitate the operation of the federal government; taxation authorities initiating or successfully asserting tax positions which are contrary to ours; curtailment of available financing from home-only lenders and increased lending regulations; availability of wholesale financing and limited floor plan lenders; market forces, rising interest rates and housing demand fluctuations; the cyclical and seasonal nature of our business; competition; general deterioration in economic conditions and turmoil in the financial markets; unfavorable zoning ordinances; extensive regulation affecting the production and sale of manufactured housing; potential financial impact on the Company from the ongoing litigation and regulatory action by the SEC against the Company, including the costs and expenses of the litigation, which include the Company's indemnification obligations, potential penalties and insurance costs regarding such matters, and potential reputational damage that the Company may suffer; losses not covered by our director and officer insurance, which may be large, adversely impacting financial performance; loss of any of our executive officers; liquidity and ability to raise capital may be limited; organizational document provisions delaying or making a change in control more difficult; and volatility of stock price; together with all of the other risks described in our filings with the SEC. Readers are specifically referred to the Risk Factors described in Item 1A of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended April 3, 2021 as may be updated from time to time in future filings on Form 10-K, Form 10-Q and other reports filed by the Company pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, which identify important risks that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Cavco expressly disclaims any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, as required by law. Investors should not place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements.
For additional information, contact: Mark Fusler Director of Financial Reporting and Investor Relations investor_relations@cavco.com Phone: 602-256-6263 On the Internet: www.cavco.com