Howard Hughes reports Q4 EPS 69c, consensus 22c

Reports Q4 revenue $ $335.84M, consensus $ $304M.Howard Hughes produced outstanding results during the fourth quarter which ultimately contributed to record full year financial results in our MPC and Operating Assets segments,” commented David R. O’Reilly, Chief Executive Officer of Howard Hughes. “During a year that was overshadowed by negative headlines and considerable uncertainty for housing and office, the exceptional performance across HHH‘s master planned communities highlights the resilience and appeal of the company’s world-class portfolio, as well as the strong demand we continue to see from people and companies seeking an amenity-rich, high-quality lifestyle in a natural setting. “In our MPCs, a resurgence in new home sales in HHH’s communities-which increased 45% year-over-year-led to Summerlin ) and Bridgeland both being ranked by RCLCO among the nation’s top five best-selling MPCs for 2023. With this heightened demand, homebuilder interest for new land parcels increased dramatically as the year progressed, resulting in near-record land sales revenue in the fourth quarter with an average price of $1.05 million per acre-an all-time high for Howard Hughes. In 2024, with mortgage rates projected to ease modestly, but not to levels that incentivize existing homeowners to sell, we expect to see an extraordinary market for new homes and continued strong homebuilder demand for our residential land. “In our Operating Assets segment, we delivered another full year of record NOI, outpacing 2022 results by 4% excluding dispositions. This growth was led by strong leasing velocity at our newest multi-family developments, as well as by solid occupancy gains and absorption within our office portfolio. In 2023, our leasing teams executed 581,000 square feet of new or expanded office leases, bringing our stabilized office assets to 88% leased at year-end and setting the stage for considerable NOI growth in the coming years.