Housebuilder says it expects to deliver around 10,000 homes and post £416m in operating profit
Taylor Wimpey says it expects to meet its operating profit and completions expectations for 2024.
The housebuilder, in a trading update today, said it is “on track” to achieve operating profit of £416m in the year to 31 December as it projected in the summer. It also said it expects to deliver between 9,500 and 10,000 homes as previously forecast.
Chief executive Jennie Daly said: “Underpinned by a strong balance sheet, well-located landbank and highly experienced teams, we are well positioned for growth from 2025, assuming supportive market conditions.”
The housebuilder’s net private sales per outlet per week in the second half of 2024 to date has increased from 0.51 to 0.70.
Its total order book stood at £2.2bn as of 4 November, up from around £1.9bn a year ago.
The group said it is focusing on building its order book further to “optimise value and position”.
It said: “Looking ahead, we welcome the Government’s focus on addressing the UK’s housing supply and unlocking the planning system which we expect to have positive implications for the supply of land over the medium term.
“We have excellent visibility of our land pipeline to deliver growth from 2025, assuming a supportive market. As previously reported, we own and control all land for 2025 completions, almost all of it with detailed planning. We continue to leverage our strategic land position with proactive applications in the system and additional applications prepared if we see the proposed National Planning Policy Framework changes adopted in the coming months.”
The housebuilder’s short term landbank as of the end of October stood at around 79,000 plots, around the same as last year. Its strategic landbank has fallen from 140,000 to 136,000 plots as it converted around 4,000 plots.
In the summer Taylor Wimpey announced that ts pre-tax profit in the first six months of the year fell from £237.7m to £99.7m, largely due to an £88m provision for cladding fire safety provisions.
Analyst Anthony Codling, managing director at RBC Capital Markets, said Taylor Wimpey is “performing well in a challenging market” with healthy sales rates, falling cancellation rates and an increased order book. It said the group’s activity in the land market, approving 11,000 plots, is a wise move before the “land market starts to heat up.”
He said: “Looking ahead Taylor Wimpey will enter 2025 with a strong orderbook and with its skills and tenacity in the strategic land market it is well-placed to take advantage of Labour’s reform of the planning system.”
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