26th Jan 2016 07:37
LONDON (Alliance News) - Crest Nicholson Holdings PLC on Tuesday said pretax profit rose, revenue increased and it will pay a higher dividend following a robust year for the UK housebuilding industry.
The FTSE 250 housebuilder said pretax profit for the year to the end of November was GBP154.0 million, up 32% year-on-year from GBP116.7 million.
Total sales revenue for the year rose to GBP804.8 million from GBP636.3 million, as the group sold 2,725 homes, up from 2,530, at an average selling price of GBP318,000, 14% higher than the GBP278,000 average at which it sold homes in the previous financial year.
Crest Nicholson said its forward sales position for the current year is strong, at GBP511.8 million in mid-January, up from GBP399.8 million a year earlier. The group said it remains on track to hit its target for GBP1.0 billion in revenue for the current financial year and for its target of GBP1.4 billion in revenue and 4,000 annual home sales by 2019.
The group will pay a final dividend of 13.3 pence per share, taking its total dividend for the year up to 19.7p, up 38% from the 14.3p it paid out a year earlier.
"The housing market is now more sustainable, underpinned by strong demand dynamics, a benign land market and government policies to improve access to home ownership. We remain confident that this environment provides Crest Nicholson with the opportunity to grow housing volumes and deliver strong cash returns to shareholders over the medium to long term," said Stephen Stone, Crest Nicholson's chief executive.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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