Housing association Peabody expects the trading environment to become “more difficult” in the coming months due to rising repairs and maintenance costs.
In a consolidated trading update for the six months to 30 September, the company said it had delivered a strong first half, with an operating margin in line with its pre-pandemic level at 36%.
The association completed 502 homes over the six months, in line with 501 in the same period a year earlier. Home starts jumped to 801 from 390.
Turnover of £346m was 16% ahead of £299m a year ago, with the association posting a surplus of £87m compared to £67m.
Chief financial officer Eamonn Hughes said: “We expect the trading environment to become more difficult in the second half of the year as we absorb increasing repairs and maintenance costs, but we have built a strong base level of performance to date and expect full-year performance to be in line with budget for key metrics.”
The company said it is on track to complete its merger with Catalyst Housing by next April.
In a separate trading update, Peabody subsidiary Town and Country Housing said maintenance costs have jumped by £1.5m in the six months to 30 September compared to a year earlier due to the business clearing a backlog of repairs. The company posted a surplus of £8.4m, up from £7.9m.
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