Berkeley Group profits rise to over £550m after ‘exceptionally volatile period’
The boss of property developer Berkeley Group hailed “extraordinary” progress made in the past year today as the firm posted a 6 per cent rise in pre-tax profits for the full year to April.
Pre-tax profits rose 6.4 per cent to hit £551.5m at the home builder, while earnings per share jumped 23 per cent.
Bosses said the group will now slow down land acquisitions after snapping up the remaining 50 per cent share of St William this year, which saw Berkeley gain full control of 24 sites with the potential to deliver over 20,000 homes.
Chief executive Rob Perrins said the firm had delivered through a extreme volatility in the past year.
“These strong results reflect the stability of our uniquely long-term operating model throughout an exceptionally volatile period,” he said.
“They are underpinned by our portfolio of major brownfield regeneration projects, where patient and sustained investment is transforming disused land into distinct and highly sustainable mixed-use neighbourhoods within the UK’s most undersupplied markets.”
Perrins added that the firm’s commitment to London had been rewarded as the capital bounced back from covid.
“The £556 million of subsidies provided to deliver affordable housing and committed to wider community and infrastructure benefits exceeds our profit for the year, and is a clear indicator of the social value and benefits that stem from our unique portfolio of long-term regeneration sites,” he said.
Cash levels at the firm have taken a battering however, with its net cash position plunging from more than £1bn to a little more than £250m. Shares in the firm dipped over six per cent this morning after the news.
Bosses are predicting pre-tax earnings of approximately £600m for 2023 and £625m for the two years thereafter, after which the focus will shift to returning cash to shareholders, the firm said today.