19th Jun 2019 08:07
(Alliance News) - Property developer Berkeley Group Holdings PLC on Wednesday beat market expectations for annual profit after "resilient" trading.
For the 12 months to April 30, the FTSE 100 company posted a pretax profit of GBP775.2 million, down 21% year-on-year, but well ahead of analyst consensus of GBP710 million and towards the top end of the range of analyst predictions.
At the start of the financial year, Berkeley had expected a 30% fall in annual pretax profit.
The pretax profit figure is, Berkeley said, an 18% out-performance against a plan to deliver GBP3.0 billion in profit in the five years to April 2021, a target set in December 2016.
In line with existing guidance, the company continued, pretax profit for its year ending March 2020 will fall by around a third year-on-year.
Berkeley's year-end net asset value per share was 19% higher on the prior year at GBP23.05, and revenue climbed 4.1% to GBP2.96 billion. It had cash due on forward sales of GBP1.8 billion, as of April's end.
During the period, Berkeley returned GBP251.9 million to shareholders, mostly through buybacks but also through dividends. It plans a further GBP139.7 million by September 2019, and will declare a dividend on August 15.
"This has been another year of solid performance for Berkeley, delivering financial results ahead of expectations while unlocking an increasingly valuable mix of social, economic and environmental benefits for the communities in which we work," said Chair Tony Pidgley.
There has been a robust demand for well-located homes, Berkeley said, and it begins its new financial year "from a position of strength".
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Berkeley Group