Countryside has announced large increases in completions, revenues and operating profits in its half-year results to March 2017.
The housebuilder said revenue was up 39% on the same period last year to £435.4m, while completions were up 31% to 1,437.
The housebuilder said it had reduced its average sale prices, relying on fewer sales from its luxury brand, Millgate, and managing the mix of units to ensure affordability. Selling prices declined to £441,000 from £505,000 in the same period in 2016. Underlying house price inflation was 6%.
Group chief executive Ian Sutcliffe said: “In particular, our partnerships division once again delivered outstanding growth and returns. We continue to be highly successful at winning new business in this division, with three large sites secured in the first half, at Bromley, Maidenhead and Barking.”
Completions in the partnerships division were up 23% to 987; completions were up 54% to 450 in the company’s housebuilding arm.
Countryside said the growth in active sites and increased sales rates have resulted in a sharp increase in completions, leading to above-expected levels of profit.
“We enter the second half of 2017 in an excellent position, with 81 operational sites and a record private forward order book. With strong operational delivery and an increasing pipeline of future work, we see continued outperformance in the medium term and are upgrading our outlook for 2017 and 2018,” said Sutcliffe.
Plots in the partnership’s landbank increased by 17.5% to 17,528, from 14,914 last year. Housebuilding stands at 20,472, a 9.3% increase on the 18,723 held last year.
| HY 2017 | HY 2016 | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Completions | 1,437 | 1,095 | 31% |
| Adjusted revenue | £435.4m | £312.8m | 39% |
| Adjusted operating profit | £70.4m | £50.8m | 39% |
| Adjusted operating margin | 16.2% | 16.2% | – |
| Adjusted basic earnings per share | 11.4p | 5.0p | 128% |
| Return on capital employed | 25.7% | 23.1% | +260bps |
| Reported revenue | £351.1m | £286.2m | 23% |
| Reported operating profit | £53.2m | £34.8m | 53% |
| Net debt | £35.0m | £8.7m | +£26.3m |
| Basic earnings per share | 11.1p | 3.1p | 258% |
| Partnerships landbank | 17,528 | 14,914 | 17.5% |
| Homebuilding landbank | 20,472 | 18,723 | 9.3% |
| Total landbank | 38,000 | 33,637 | 13.0% |
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