Housebuilder Persimmon today reported no slowdown in the housing boom as it unveiled record annual profits of £352.5m.
Expectations of higher interest rates were doing little to dampen demand, with more than 6,000 Persimmon homes changing hands since the beginning of January.
Property sales of £976m in the first two months of this year were 32% ahead of 2003, putting the group on course for a tenth consecutive year of growth.
Persimmon said profits advanced 32% in the 12 months to 31 December, benefiting from sustained growth in house prices with the average cost of a new home now 12% higher at £154,810.
Turnover advanced to £1.88bn in spite of planning delays in the South of England, which reduced the number of completed homes during the year.
Chairman David Davidson said: “Looking ahead, the group is in a very strong position to achieve further growth, both organically and, where appropriate, by acquisition.”
In a trading update in December, Persimmon pledged to lift its full-year dividend by at least 15%.
But it unveiled a 21% rise in payments to shareholders to 18.3p today after the business performed ahead of expectations.
The company has invested in building up its land bank to 57,222 plots, including the purchase of a 90-acre brownfield site on the former Massey Ferguson machinery plant in Coventry.
Its 12 businesses in the North of England completed 3% more homes during the year, with rising volumes and the success of its Newcastle Great Park development encouraging managers to open a new business on Teesside at the beginning of the year.
But housing completions in the South of England declined to 5,878 last year, against 6,395 homes in 2003, as a direct result of planning delays.
Persimmon said new outlets opened since June meant it was now operating on 12% more sites in the region than at the same time last year, fuelling hopes of good volume growth in 2004.
The group added that it had successfully rolled out its Charles Church business, which specialises in high-quality homes, in northern counties with demand at “very pleasing” levels.
References: EGi News 01/03/04
