Housebuilder Persimmon said it has achieved a significant increase in underlying profit before tax in the year to end-December 2010, which will be at the top end of analysts’ expectations.
During 2010 Persimmon legally completed 9,384 (2009: 8,976) homes at an average selling price of c. £167,000 generating a turnover of c. £1.57 billion. This represents an increase on the 2009 performance of 4.5% on legal completions, a c. 6% improvement in average selling price of our homes, partly due to mix changes, and a c. 10% increase in turnover.
The company also achieved a further significant reduction in net borrowings to c. £51m (2009: £267.5m) during this period. This reduction in net borrowings is well ahead of original expectations and is a result of our continued strategy to generate cash whilst maximising margins.
As previously indicated underlying operating margin for the year will be c. 8%.
Persimmon said it had not experienced the usual level of upturn in sales in the autumn period with most parts of the country affected by severe weather conditions for several weeks. Whilst, unsurprisingly, this has reduced the level of sales activity during the period, pricing has remained stable and the margins on forward sales of c. £565m have been maintained at the levels achieved over recent months.
A full copy of the statement from Persimmon can be obtained from their website http://corporate.persimmonhomes.com/ or the following link Statement Report
Onyx Construction Consultants are pleased to count Persimmon as one of its valued clients working with its Northampton and Witham offices and more than pleased that its doing well in the current market conditions.
If you are a house builder and need temporary assistance with your commercial needs or a subcontractor looking for an introduction to major house builders then contact Andrew Fella at Onyx Construction Consultants Ltd
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