Housebuilders Taylor Wimpey (TW.) and Cairn Homes (CRN) joined the chorus of developers celebrating a strong 2021 thanks to positive demand and price trends.
Taylor Wimpey shares added 1.7% to 147p, while Cairn shares were unchanged at 106p.
PROFIT BOOST
Volume builder Taylor Wimpey’s revenues for 2021 jumped 53% to £4.28 billion while pre-tax profit more than doubled, up 157% to £679.6 million.
UK completions climbed 47% to 14,087 units while the forward order book stood at just over 10,000 homes at the end of last year, equivalent to £2.55 billion in new sales.
Chief executive Pete Redfern commented: ‘I am very pleased with our operational, financial and customer service performance in 2021. Demand for our homes remains strong and we continued to drive significant margin improvement in 2021, as we optimise selling prices and maintain our strong focus on cost efficiency.’
Net cash at the year end was £837 million, up from £719 million in 2020, despite the firm’s ‘opportunistic’ purchase of 14,000 plots for future development and an increase in the dividend.
Regarding the cladding issue, the firm has already provisioned £165 million for remedial work but said depending on discussions with the government it may have to take a ‘modest’ additional provision.
STRONGEST HALF
Irish-based Cairn, which takes its name from Neolithic stone structures, posted a 62% jump in revenue to €424 million for the first half to December and earnings per share of €0.058 compared with €0.017 the previous year.
The firm said the six-month period marked its strongest ever half-year with 717 completed sales worth €293 million at a gross margin of more than 20% despite build cost inflation.
Strong cash flow generation meant the firm was able to reduce its debt, start a €75 million share buyback and resume dividend payments.
After a steep rise in forward sales due to what it described as an ‘exceptionally strong’ start to 2022, the company raised its full year revenue guidance to more than €600 million.
It also raised its medium-term build pipeline and cash flow forecasts thanks to continued strong demand for housing not just in the greater Dublin area but in more rural areas as it expands its footprint.
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