27th Feb 2025 14:08
(Alliance News) - Cairn Homes PLC on Thursday reported a sharp rise in earnings in 2024, driven by strong housing demand, as it forecast continued growth in the year ahead.
The Dublin-based housebuilder said pretax profit rose 36% to EUR134.9 million last year from EUR99.4 million in 2023. Revenue climbed 29% to EUR859.9 million from EUR666.8 million, supported by the sale of 2,241 housing units, up 29% from 1,741 in 2023.
Return on equity improved to 15% from 11%, but the company's gross margin dipped slightly to 22%, which Cairn said it was "primarily" due to "the product mix and a significant increase in the delivery of competitively priced affordable homes for state-supported counterparties."
Cairn declared a total dividend of 8.2 euro cents per share for 2024, up 30% from 6.3 cents the year prior, and approved a final dividend of 4.4 cents per share. The company returned EUR115.3 million to shareholders through dividends and buybacks during the year.
Looking ahead, Cairn Homes expects revenue growth of over 10% in 2025, with operating profit projected at approximately EUR160 million, up from EUR150.0 million in 2024, and return on equity of around 16%.
Chief Executive Officer Michael Stanley said: "We took a material step, right across our business, in operational performance and volume delivery in 2024. We also made significant progress in our financial performance based on a foundation of continuous and substantial investment in the delivery of new homes for private buyers and for the state.
"The newly elected [Irish] government has put new home delivery front and centre in its 'programme for government'. While policy makers give due consideration to the strategic challenges surrounding housing delivery in the medium term, there are numerous quick wins that can deliver substantially more homes in the short term.
"This is the time for the government to be brave, and I have confidence that we and the broader industry will respond in kind."
Shares in Cairn Homes were down 2.4% to 173.42 pence in London on Thursday afternoon.
By Eva Castanedo, Alliance News reporter
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