| Item | % change from 2014 |
|---|---|
| Pretax profit | 42 |
| NAV per share | 12.5 |
| Earnings per share | 41.1 |
| Revenue | 30.8 |
Berkeley Group chairman Tony Pidgeley has lent his support to the “yes” campaign in Britain’s upcoming EU referendum, arguing that continued membership is the “best way for London to thrive as a world city”.
He said his company welcomed the decisive result of the recent UK general election as it posted a 42% increase in pretax profits for the year, but warned that uncertainty remained owing to the impending mayoral election and EU referendum.
However, he warned that in order for businesses to thrive they must not be bound by over-regulation, “be this from our own government or from Europe”, he added.
Pidgeley’s comments came as the company unveiled strong results for the year to the end of April that sent shares climbing by 44p to 3,158p in early trading.
The strong performance was driven by a 30.8% increase in revenues coupled with a 43.7% cut in costs, which delivered pretax profits of £539.7m, up from £380m the previous year.
Earnings per share were up by 41.1% while NAV per share rose by 12.5% to 1,199p.
Berkeley confirmed it would pay a further interim dividend of 90p per share to complete the first stage of its 10-year plan, announced in 2011, to pay back £1.7bn to shareholders.
The latest dividend means it will have paid back 434p per share by September 2015. The board said it remained on course to pay a further 433p per share by September 2018 and 433p by 2021.
Berkeley’s land bank now comprises 37,473 plots, up from 35,963 last year.
