27th Feb 2006 07:01
Persimmon PLC27 February 2006 27 February 2006 RESULTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2005 Highlights • Record pre-tax profits*: up 5.9% on 2004 at £495.4 million (2004: £468.0 million). • Increase in basic earnings per share* to 118.4p (2004: 113.5p). • Proposed full year dividend to increase by 12.7% to 31p per share (2004: 27.5p). • Maintained full year operating margin* at similar levels to 2004 at 23.1% (2004: 23.4%). • Completed the sale of 12,636 homes (2004: 12,360), producing turnover of £2.29 billion (2004: £2.13 billion). Group average selling price advanced to £180,892 (2004: £172,431). • Continued growth at Charles Church: increased volumes by 18.3% to 1,286 (2004: 1,087) and average selling price rose by 11.2% to £283,260 (2004: £254,810). • £643 million acquisition of Westbury plc completed on 17 January 2006. • Gearing of 16% after acquiring 26.1% of the shares of Westbury plc for £169 million in the stock market on 24 November 2005. • New divisional structure to ensure successful management of enlarged business at local level. Persimmon now has three regions: Central, North and South. • Total sales for 2006 to date are over 7,000 units at c. £1.25 billion (this includes an initial contribution from Westbury). *results have been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards. Duncan Davidson, Group Chairman said: "2005 was another record year forPersimmon. It was also hugely significant for the Group, with the announcementin November 2005 of our £643 million successful offer for Westbury plc. I ampleased to report that the initial stages of integration have been completed toplan. Looking forward, we have seen a good start to 2006 with good forward salesin most areas. Current visitor levels to our developments across the UK areencouraging. "As announced last year, John White will take over my position as Group Chairmanat the AGM on 20 April 2006, and Mike Farley will become Chief Executive. I amproud to have led Persimmon for 34 years, and know that the growth and successof the Group will continue unabated thanks to the efforts of all our staff." For further information, please contact: Duncan Davidson, Group Chairman Edward OrlebarJohn White, Group Chief Executive Faeth BirchMike Killoran, Group Finance Director Kirsty FlockhartPersimmon plc FinsburyTel: +44 (0) 20 7251 3801 on 27 February 2006 Tel: +44 (0) 20 7251 3801Tel: +44 (0) 1904 642199 thereafter Print resolution images are available for media download at www.newscast.co.uk CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT ANNUAL REPORT - FEBRUARY 2006 2005 was another record year for Persimmon, with net pre-tax profits of £495.4million (2004: £468.0 million). Basic earnings per share increased to 118.4p (2004: 113.5p). These figures are the first full year results which have been prepared in accordancewith International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRSs"), which were effective at31 December 2005. When we published our restatement of financial information for 2004 under IFRSson 24 May 2005 we demonstrated that the transition from UK Generally AcceptedAccounting Principles ("UK GAAP") did not have a material effect on our financial results. This remains the case for 2005; for example, profit before tax and goodwillamortisation on a UK GAAP basis for 2005 was £499.5 million (2004: £470.4 million). The year was hugely significant for the Group, with the announcement in November2005 of our £643 million successful offer for Westbury plc. This acquisition wascompleted on 17 January 2006. Since then we have been implementing ourintegration plans for that business. I am pleased to report that this processhas proceeded extremely well and the initial stages of integration have beencompleted to plan. The acquisition is an ideal fit for Persimmon with anexcellent geographic overlap which creates an enlarged business building c.16,700 homes per annum. We also purchased the net assets of Senator Homes, a small business in Cumbria,for £25 million (including borrowings) on 13 December 2005. This has enlargedour Lancashire operation and has already been fully integrated into Persimmon. As a result of the progress the Group has made, Persimmon entered the FTSE 100in December, being the first pure housebuilder ever to do so. In 2005 we completed the sale of 12,636 (2004: 12,360) homes at an averageselling price of £180,892 (2004: 172,431) an increase of 5%, giving a turnoverof £2.29 billion (2004: £2.13 billion). Despite more challenging conditionsthroughout 2005, we were able to maintain operating margins at similar levels tothe prior year at 23.1% (2004: 23.4%). We increased operating profits to £527.8 million(2004: £498.0 million). Turning to our cash position, net borrowings at 31 December 2005 were £266 million,giving gearing of 16%. This was after paying £25 million for Senator Homes, and £169 million for the 26.1% of Westbury plc which we bought in the stockmarket on 24 November 2005, the day of the announcement of the recommended offer. In my Interim Statement on 23 August 2005 we committed to pay total dividendsfor 2005 of not less than 30.4 pence per share (2004: 27.5 pence). We are infact now proposing total dividends for 2005 of 31 pence per share, representingan increase of 12.7% over dividends paid in 2004. We paid an interim dividend of12 pence per share in October 2005, and will recommend a final dividend of 19pence per share, which will be payable on 21 April 2006 to shareholders on theRegister on 10 March 2006. As before, we are offering a scrip dividendalternative. We continued to be very selective about our land purchases throughout the year.Our landbank of consented plots owned and under control at the year end was63,336 plots. Since the acquisition of Westbury this has increased to c. 78,000plots providing a land supply of over 41/2 years. This length of landbank isessential for a business of our scale given the continuing difficulties andchallenges to be addressed in achieving satisfactory detailed planning consentsthroughout the UK. We have seen a good start to 2006 with good forward sales in most areas. On 26 Februaryour total sales to date for the current year are over 7,000 units at c. £1.25 billionsales revenue. This includes an initial contribution from Westbury. Current visitorlevels to our developments across the UK are encouraging. On 20 April 2006 John Millar, Sir Chips Keswick and myself will all retire from the Main Board. I am honoured to have been invited to become Life President of Persimmon.I would like to thank John and Chips very sincerely for the incredible contributionwhich they have both made to Persimmon's success over the last 20 years. As announced last year, John White will take over my position as Group Chairman,and Mike Farley will become Chief Executive. Both John and Mike have beenexceedingly successful in their long careers with Persimmon. I know that theywill both continue that success in their new roles. I am also delighted to welcome to the Main Board of Persimmon Adam Applegarth,Chief Executive of Northern Rock plc, and Nicholas Wrigley, a Managing Directorof N.M. Rothschild, as Non-Executive Directors. The wealth of experience whichthey both have will bring added strength to our Board for the future. I am proud to have led Persimmon for 34 years, and our success over all thoseyears has been achieved by the fantastic efforts of every member of our Staff atall levels. In the period since April 1985, when Persimmon became a listedcompany, we have built c. 120,000 homes. During this time we have achievedgrowth in total shareholder return of over 25% on a compound annual basis andhave increased the Group's market capitalisation from £14 million to over £4billion. I know that the growth and success of Persimmon will continue unabated,thanks to their efforts. I thank them all and wish every one of them all thevery best for the future. Duncan DavidsonChairman27 February 2006 CHIEF EXECUTIVE'S REVIEW Overview It gives me great pleasure in my final Chief Executive's Review before I becomeChairman to be able to report on another record set of results for Persimmon.This is especially so, because as commented upon widely, 2005 was a mostchallenging year for the industry. During the year the market was characterised by uncertainty and a general lackof confidence amongst potential purchasers due to concerns over house pricestability. At Persimmon, we were able to respond to these more demanding conditions in anumber of ways. We started 2005 with a good forward order book despite arelatively quiet autumn period in 2004. We had ensured that we had increasedoutlets for marketing during the early months of 2005 and continued to focus onforward selling ahead of construction on all our sites during this importantsales period. We also ensured that, through our local teams, we remained flexible with thetype, specification and price range of homes we were offering to the market.Through this process we experienced a greater demand in some areas for lowerpriced properties in preference to some of our mid price range homes, which insome regions, resulted in an increase in volumes at a reduced average sellingprice. Core housing completions were 11,350 (2004: 11,273) and Charles Churchcompletions for the year were 1,286 (2004: 1,087) giving total completions forthe Group of 12,636 (2004: 12,360). The Group's average selling price increaseof 5% reflects these changes of mix as well as some real price growth. Insummary, we believe we demonstrated our resilience in tougher market conditions. North This division completed 4,962 units, slightly down on 2004, offset by a 5%increase in average selling price to £162,737 from £154,287. Whilst thestrongest region during 2005 was Scotland, the performance of all regions in theNorth division was satisfactory. Our focus on maintaining a good spread of product across the mid to lower end ofthe range has once again stood us in good stead. Whilst the market wasundoubtedly tougher in the north the relatively low level of average sellingprice has ensured that we have performed well. South The South division performed well once again increasing the number ofcompletions to 6,388 from 6,187 in 2004. Average selling price increased by only1% during 2005. This was partly due to a shift to more smaller homes as weresponded to local market requirements. Our Western region for example, whichcovers South Wales and the South West of England, performed particularly wellwith increased completions of 15% to 2,503 (2004: 2,183) at a reduced averageselling price of £178,988 (2004: £183,768). This was achieved by ensuring thatthe appropriate product mix was available to the market. Charles Church This brand continued to increase its coverage of the UK. The investments we havemade both in management time and financial commitment have established a strongplatform for growth. During 2005 we increased volumes by 18% to 1,286 homes(2004: 1,087). Average selling price also increased by 11% to £283,260 (2004: £254,810).There are many sites in the Westbury portfolio that are particularly well suited to the Charles Church product, which will result in a step change in the volumes achieved in this business over the next few years. Build Once again we experienced an increase in our build costs in all areas of ourbusiness. Whilst we originally expected significant pressure on material costs,in the event we were able to keep these increases to a minimum. Pressure onlabour price increases were also resisted reasonably well. Undoubtedly our scaleof business and the continuity we are able to offer to our preferred suppliersand contractors is an advantage in this respect. As a result total build costincreases were similar to the previous year at c. 4%. Landbank Whilst we continued to exercise discipline and caution regarding the replacementof our landbank, we were able to increase the number of plots owned and undercontrol to 63,336 plots (2004: 59,947 plots) including c. 800 plots from theSenator Homes purchase. Our plot cost to selling price ratio is 19.3% (2004: 19.1%). Additionally we had c. 19,000 acres of strategic land owned or under option.This portfolio continues to successfully deliver c. 25% of the new plots weacquire each year. This year was no exception with specific successes inYorkshire (1,200 plots), at Bracknell (750 plots), Bridgwater (750 plots) andPeterborough (1,150 plots). We continue to invest in this aspect of our businessand are confident that it will be a source of further significant successes inthe short, medium and long term. Following the acquisition of Westbury we now have over 78,000 plots owned andunder control in the enlarged Group, representing c. 41/2 years supply, inaddition to a total of c. 25,000 acres in our strategic land portfolio. TheWestbury strategic land portfolio of c. 6,000 acres has many interesting andexciting opportunities to develop over future years. Westbury Integration As referred to in the Chairman's Statement, we have successfully completed theinitial stages of the integration of Westbury. All acquired sites were rebranded immediately to either Persimmon or CharlesChurch. This was an important factor in establishing the appropriate backgroundfor the enlarged Group which will ensure the ongoing successful integration ofthe acquired business. In the five weeks we have owned the business we have closed eight of the tenWestbury offices. We have also consulted fully with all affected office basedstaff resulting in c. 500 leaving the Company. We have retained the appropriatenumber of high quality senior managers and office staff, whilst at site levelthere have been no significant staffing changes. We are currently reviewing sitelayouts, designs, mix of product and specifications in order to maximise thedevelopment potential on all the acquired developments. Our task is also to ensure that build costs are improved on the Westbury sitesby capturing improved procurement and sub-contractor costs. This process is atan early stage due to the phasing of construction works, but is alreadyproducing success. All these efforts will ensure we maximise the synergy benefits on integratingWestbury into the enlarged Group which we believe will be c. £25 million in 2006and c. £40 million in each year from 2007 onwards. We estimate that we willincur one-off costs of integration of c. £12 million in achieving our plans atthis stage. We have maintained the Westbury Partnerships brand to provide a focus on workingwith the Government in its efforts to increase the supply of affordable homes.We have set up a small specialist and dedicated team at the WestburyPartnerships office in Gloucester to drive this business forward over futureyears. The Space4 manufacturing business represents a good opportunity to work moreclosely with Westbury Partnerships and the Government's agenda regarding ModernMethods of Construction. We believe that given the volume of homes produced bythe enlarged Persimmon Group and by working closely with specialist WestburyPartnerships we can begin to make good progress with Space4. The only other ex-Westbury office to remain open is in South Wales which becomesthe new Charles Church Wales office. This brings the total number of CharlesChurch businesses to ten. In order to ensure the successful management of the enlarged business, which weexpect to deliver c. 17,000 units per annum after 2006, we have restructured ourDivisional Management to create an additional "Central" region. We haveincreased our divisions from two to three, namely Central, North and South. Wenow have the management in place to deliver further growth as and when themarket conditions are supportive. David Thornton aged 48, who until recently was Deputy Chief Executive for theSouth Division working closely with Mike Farley, is now Divisional ChiefExecutive for the Central Division. David has had a number of roles withPersimmon in his 14 years with the Group. The North is led by Jeff Fairburn aged39, previously Managing Director and Regional Chairman of the North East with 16years experience with Persimmon. The new South Division will be under theleadership of Nigel Greenaway aged 45. Nigel has recently been a ManagingDirector and Regional Chairman for Persimmon in South Midlands and has 19 yearsexperience with the Group. This management structure will ensure that we continue to drive the enlargedbusiness forward, whilst maintaining our ability and focus on quick decisionmaking at local levels. Current Trading Outlook In the eight weeks since the beginning of this year we have detected an increasein purchasers' confidence and the ability and desire to buy a new home. Visitor levels have been good and new reservations have been encouraging. Whilstit is too early in the New Year to predict the market, it is nevertheless a goodstart to the year. We are continuing to be realistic about price expectations to ensuresatisfactory levels of sales are achieved. Our part-exchange scheme continues tosupport sales whilst we have seen a reduction in the use of incentives in someareas. Our current total sales at over 7,000 homes with a value of c. £1.25 billion atan average selling price of £178,500 are at a level we would expect and gives usconfidence for the year as we enter the start of the most important sales periodfor new homes. We expect to open over 300 new developments during 2006 whichwill provide good support to our sales activity throughout the year. Corporate Responsibility We have made good progress with regard to matters concerning our Corporateresponsibility. Improvements have been made in all areas, especially in trainingof our staff, environmental issues and health and safety. The Group continues to support the development of new talent in the industry andthis year we were awarded "Best Training and Staff Initiative" at theHouseBuilding Innovation Awards, recognising our commitment to training atapprentice, school leaver and graduate level. Our Corporate Responsibility Report, which gives more details on all theseissues within our business, can be viewed on our website, www.persimmonhomes.com. Summary We are pleased to have achieved such a strong result for the Group for 2005.However, our efforts and focus are now very much concentrated on lookingforward, successfully integrating the Westbury acquisition and continuing toachieve further success. We have an experienced team, great landbank, proven track record and acommitment to succeed. We also have a strong sales position, the appropriatelevel of investment in land and work in progress in all parts of the UK andgreat benefits of scale which we can utilise to support our margins. We aretherefore in an excellent position for the future. I am certain that the commitment we have amongst our staff at all levels, bothnew and long-serving, will ensure that we continue to achieve the best possibleresults whatever market conditions we encounter over future years. I know that Mike Farley, who becomes Group Chief Executive following the AGM on20 April 2006, and our team will continue to grow the business with great success. John WhiteGroup Chief Executive27 February 2006 PERSIMMON PLC Consolidated Income Statement for the year ended 31 December 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year to Year to 31 December 31 December Note 2005 2004 £m £m-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Revenue 2,285.7 2,131.3 Cost of sales (1,681.4) (1,549.4)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Gross profit 604.3 581.9 Operating expenses (76.5) (83.9)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Profit from operations 527.8 498.0 Finance income 0.8 0.6Finance costs (33.2) (30.6)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Profit before tax 495.4 468.0 Income tax expense 4 (150.6) (143.7)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Profit after tax (all attributable to equity 344.8 324.3holders of the parent)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Earnings per shareBasic 6 118.4p 113.5pDiluted 6 118.0p 112.8p Consolidated Balance Sheet at 31 December 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 December 31 December Note 2005 2004 £m £m-------------------------------------------------------------------------------ASSETSNon-current assetsIntangible assets 182.0 182.0Property, plant and equipment 32.5 28.2Investments 169.1 -Deferred tax assets 33.3 22.4------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 416.9 232.6-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Current assetsInventories 2,197.9 1,992.8Trade and other receivables 107.2 98.7Cash and cash equivalents 3 10.7 84.6------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2,315.8 2,176.1-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total assets 2,732.7 2,408.7------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LIABILITIESNon-current liabilitiesInterest bearing loans and 3 (233.6) (223.7)borrowingsForward currency swaps 3 (19.5) (35.2)Deferred tax liabilities (8.3) (2.2)Retirement benefit obligation (73.5) (66.3)Other liabilities (61.5) (61.1)------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (396.4) (388.5)------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Current liabilitiesTrade and other payables (529.4) (511.5)Current tax liabilities (89.1) (81.2)Forward currency swaps 3 (1.4) (2.2)Interest bearing loans and borrowings 3 (24.4) (19.7)------------------------------------------------------------------------------- (644.3) (614.6)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total liabilities (1,040.7) (1,003.1)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net assets 1,692.0 1,405.6------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHAREHOLDERS' EQUITYOrdinary share capital issued 29.5 28.9Share premium 229.2 221.2Own shares (4.1) (3.2)Hedge reserve 0.6 5.2Consolidation reserve 281.4 281.4Retained earnings 1,155.4 872.1-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total shareholders' equity 1,692.0 1,405.6------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consolidated Cash Flow Statement for the year ended 31 December 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year to Year to 31 December 31 December Note 2005 2004 £m £m-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cash flows from operating activities:Profit for the year 344.8 324.3 Adjustment for:Tax 150.6 143.7Non-cash pensions (credit)/charge (0.4) 0.9Depreciation charge 7.3 7.0(Profit)/loss on disposal of property, plant (0.4) 0.1and equipmentFinance income (0.8) (0.6)Finance costs 33.2 30.6Share-based payment charge 2.0 2.1-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Profit from operations before working 536.3 508.1capital changes Changes in working capital:Increase in inventories (191.4) (337.2)(Increase)/decrease in trade and other (8.5) 10.0receivablesIncrease in trade and other payables 10.2 134.2-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net cash from operations 346.6 315.1 Interest paid (25.8) (26.4)Tax paid (144.5) (127.6)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net cash from operating activities 176.3 161.1 Cash flows from investing activities:Purchase of Westbury shares (169.1) -Purchases of property, plant and equipment (11.1) (12.9)Proceeds from sale of property, plant and equipment 1.3 2.5Interest received 0.8 0.6-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net cash used in investing activities (178.1) (9.8) Cash flows from financing activities:Repayment of borrowings (26.2) (16.6)Drawdown on existing loan facilities 10.0 -Finance lease principal payments (1.2) (0.9)Exercise of share options 6.1 6.0Dividends paid to Group shareholders (58.6) (43.1)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net cash used in financing activities (69.9) (54.6)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Decrease)/increase in net cash and cash 2 (71.7) 96.7equivalents-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net cash and cash equivalents at beginning 79.4 (17.3)of year-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net cash and cash equivalents at end of year 3 7.7 79.4------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Consolidated Statement of Recognised Income and Expense for the year ended 31 December 2005 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year to Year to 31 December 31 December 2005 2004 £m £m-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Effective portion of changes in fair value (6.5) (8.9)of cash flow hedgesActuarial losses on defined benefit pension (7.6) (11.1)schemesTaxation on items taken directly to equity 4.2 6.0-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net expense recognised directly in equity (9.9) (14.0) Profit for the year 344.8 324.3-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Total recognised income for the year 334.9 310.3------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Notes 1. Accounting policies The financial information has been prepared in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) as adopted by the European Union (EU) and effective (or available for early adoption) at 31 December 2005. Comparative information for the year ended 31 December 2004 has been stated on an IFRS basis. Full details of IFRS policies applied and reconciliations of comparative figures between UK GAAP and IFRS are available in our announcement of restatement of financial information for 2004 issued on 24 May 2005. A copy of the announcement is available under the Investor Relations area of our website, www.persimmonhomes.com. As anticipated in previous announcements the EU has now adopted IAS 19 (Revised), and we have applied the policy of recognising expected pension scheme gains and losses via the statement of recognised income and expense. 2. Reconciliation of net cash flow to net debt------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Year to Year to 31 December 31 December Note 2005 2004 £m £m-------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Decrease)/increase in net cash and cash (71.7) 96.7equivalentsDecrease in debt and finance leases 17.4 17.5-------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Increase)/decrease in net debt from cash (54.3) 114.2flowsNew finance leases (1.4) (0.9)Non cash flow movements (16.3) (8.9)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------(Increase)/decrease in net debt (72.0) 104.4Net debt at beginning of year (196.2) (300.6)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net debt at end of year 3 (268.2) (196.2)------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Analysis of net debt------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 December 31 December Note 2005 2004 £m £m-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Cash and cash equivalents 10.7 84.6Bank overdrafts (3.0) (5.2)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net cash and cash equivalents 7.7 79.4Bank loans (10.0) -US and UK senior loan notes due within one year (20.2) (13.4)US and UK senior loan notes due after more (222.3) (222.5)than one yearForward currency swaps (20.9) (37.4)Finance leases (2.5) (2.3)-------------------------------------------------------------------------------Net debt at end of year 2 (268.2) (196.2)------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4. Taxation Taxation has been calculated at an effective rate of 30.4% of profit after financing costs (2004: 30.7%). 5. Acquisitions On 24 November 2005 Persimmon plc made an offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Westbury plc, the consideration for which is being paid wholly in cash. On the same date the Group acquired 30 million 10p ordinary shares of Westbury plc, being 26.1% of the issued share capital, for consideration of £169.1m via market purchases. On 17 January 2006 the Group's offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Westbury plc was declared unconditional. The results of Westbury plc will be included in the consolidated reports of Persimmon plc from this date. During the year the Group purchased the net assets of Senator Homes Limited for £24.9m (including debt of £9.8m). Management considers this transaction to be primarily a land purchase. 6. Earnings per share Basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the earnings attributable to ordinary shareholders of £344.8m (2004: £324.3m) by the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue, excluding those held by the Employee Share Ownership Trust and the Employee Benefit Trust which are treated as cancelled. The weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the year is 291,120,186 (2004: 285,707,897). For diluted earnings per share, the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue is adjusted to assume conversion of all dilutive potential ordinary shares from the start of the accounting period. The company has only one category of potentially dilutive ordinary shares: those share options and awards granted to Directors and employees where the exercise price is less than the average market price of the Company's ordinary shares during the year. The weighted average number of ordinary shares so calculated is 292,236,493 (2004: 287,530,169). 7. Dividends It is proposed to pay a final dividend of 19.0p per share on 21 April 2006 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 10 March 2006. In accordance with IAS 10, the liability for the payment of the dividend has not been included in the financial statements. During the year the 2004 final dividend of 18.4p and the 2005 interim dividend of 12.0p were paid to shareholders. 8. Status of financial information The financial information set out above does not constitute the Company's consolidated statutory accounts for the years ended 31 December 2005 or 2004 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for the year ended 31 December 2004, under UK GAAP, have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies, and those for the year ended 31 December 2005, under IFRSs, will be delivered following the Company's Annual General Meeting. The auditors have reported on those accounts; their reports were unqualified and did not contain statements under section 237(2) or (3) of the Companies Act 1985. The annual report will be posted to shareholders on Monday 20 March 2006. Copies of the annual report will also be available from the Company Secretary, Persimmon plc, Persimmon House, Fulford, York, YO19 4FE. Further information on the Group can be found on the Persimmon website at:www.persimmonhomes.com This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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