10th May 2006 12:00
McInerney Holdings PLC10 May 2006 Wednesday, 10th May 2005 CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING It is a pleasure to report that the Group again recorded a strong operationalperformance in 2005. Pre tax profits were €50.06m, an increase of 26% on the2004 full year result. Earnings per share also rose by 16% to 124.01 cent.Subject to confirmation at this meeting, the total dividend will have increasedby 33% to 24 cent per share. In 2005 each operating division delivered an increase in output and profits. Inparticular, our product mix targeted at market segments offering greatest demandresulted in very favourable performances in our housing businesses in Irelandand the UK. Our focus on achieving strong growth in the UK was successful. We significantlygeared up this business operationally during 2005. It resulted in an increase in sales output of 32% - and this was within a marketthat was deemed to be generally slower than the previous year. Our housing activities now span across the North of England. Our recentacquisition of Augusta Developments in February 2006 has further added to ourgeographic expansion in the UK. It gives us access to a new territory and a newmarket segment. It provides the Group with an operational foothold in the SouthMidlands to grow our business, as well as access to the UK's significant socialhousing market. In addition, a West Midlands Division has been established basedin Wolverhampton. It will also add to output in 2007. Our operations cover theNorth West, the North East, Yorkshire, and now also the West Midlands and theSouth Midlands regions. Dividend The Board's objective to incorporate a more progressive dividend policy islargely achieved. A final dividend of 15 cent gross per share is proposed whichwill result in a total dividend of 24 cent per share. This equates to a dividendcover of five times, which will be sustained in line with earnings growth. Operations Our operational performance in 2005 resulted in our three housing businessescompleting a total of 1,831 private homes. This is an increase of 13% on the2004 performance, when 1,614 units were completed. Our commercial operationsrecorded a strong increase in sales output with 15,339 square metres completedas compared with 8,289 square metres in 2004. Ireland: Fundamentals impacting on our Irish housing business continued to bepositive in 2005. The Group's Irish house building business increased itsprofits by 28% in 2005. It delivered a record 1,138 private home completions.Market demand remains robust. For the full year of 2006, we expect to deliver alevel of units comparable to last year. We are currently operating across 33sites around the country. Our landbank of 4,700 plots is regionally wellspread. We continue to expand into new regions where housing demand is good. We recentlyacquired new housing sites in Macroom where development has commenced; Athlonewhere a planning application has been lodged and Athy where a planningapplication will shortly be made. Strong market demand for Irish housing shows no sign of diminishing. It isexpected that this demand will continue, boosted by employment, demographics andinward migration. We remain well positioned to capitalise on these trends. Our commercial division, Hillview Developments sold over 14,000 square metres ofindustrial units in Ireland as compared to 4,666 square metres in 2004. Demandfor its product also remains good and two new sites have been secured in NorthWest Dublin. The Irish contracting business performed strongly in 2005. It has secured asignificant amount of business growth. The order book of over €130m compares to€42m last year. The bulk of this order book - some 60% - are housing relatedcontracts. We anticipate a favourable uplift in revenue from this business in2006. UK: At last year's AGM, I stated that we had built a platform for growth in theUK and had strong ambitions for further growth. 2005 saw good progress on allfronts and this has continued into 2006. We increased our unit sales to 658 in2005 up from 500 in 2004. Profits grew by 35% to €17m. We also achieved our ambition of strategic organic growth. We are now operatingon six housing sites in Yorkshire. We have secured our first site in the WestMidlands. We have augmented our landbank from 1,950 plots in 2004 to 2,350 plotsat year end. Our UK housing business will continue to target its products to the moreaffordable end of the market. We are experiencing increased demand across allour UK regions since last autumn and would expect to see a substantial increasein unit completions in 2006. Our UK business will operate from 41 housing sitesduring 2006. The UK management team continues to be augmented at regional, financial andtechnical levels to sustain growth. This broadened base will enable the Group togenerate significant revenue and profit growth going forward. This businessoffers considerable growth potential for the future. Hillview Developments, the commercial division continued to expand itsoperations in the UK in 2005. Last year, it completed 1,122 square metres ofindustrial units. It currently operates across three sites in Croydon, Cheshamand Watford. These sites will give us good growth in output in 2006. Spain: Our operations based in Marbella, Spain delivered 35 units in 2005 ascompared to 13 units in 2004. It contributed €5m in profits in 2005 - anincrease from €2.3m in 2004. We are continuing to gear up our freeholdactivities in the region and recently purchased a new site with planning consentat El Cortesin, near Estepona, within a quality golfing estate. Our two additional sites at Sotogrande and Mijas remain at various stages of theplanning process, primarily due to revisions in the Spanish planninglegislation. We have a good level of sales on hand and confidently expect another good yearof earnings in Spain in 2006. Conclusion In essence, we are reporting strong demand across all our businesses. Marketconditions remain favourable and each business is well placed to providecontinued revenue growth going forward. We anticipate the Group performing solidly in 2006, delivering significantgrowth in unit numbers, revenues and earnings. Ned Sullivan, Chairman, McInerney Holdings plc. ENDS FOR INFORMATION: Siobhan Molloy, Weber Shandwick FCC Tel: (01) 676 01 68 or (086) 817 50 66 About McInerney Holdings plc McInerney Holdings plc is one of Ireland's leading development companies, withdivisions specialising in various aspects of the construction market. McInerneyHoldings plc comprises four divisions operating in Ireland, Spain and the UnitedKingdom. Established in 1909, the Group is Ireland's largest nationalhomebuilder, and undertakes extensive commercial and leisure projects both inIreland and abroad. The company is listed on the Dublin and London StockExchanges (ISE: MCI.I/LSE: MCI). This announcement has been issued through the Companies Announcement Service of The Irish Stock Exchange This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Medcaw Investm.