Revenue drops at Foxtons as London cools
TRENDY high street estate agency Foxtons saw its shares surge 11.8 per cent yesterday shaking off an early dip of 2.4 per cent in early trading.
The upmarket estate agent – known for its trendy Minis and even trendier, bar-like offices – has posted fourth quarter results showing revenues fell 12 per cent in the three months to the end of December.
That was driven by a 25.7 per cent fall in sales commission during the quarter – although it added that full-year sales commission rose 3.6 per cent to £70m.
There was some good news: Its lettings business rose 7.7 per cent year-on-year, which “exceeds the long-term growth trend” of six per cent. The lettings business now makes up half of group revenue.
However, it wasn’t enough to shore up adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation. The company said it expects that figure will fall to £46m, down from £49.6m in 2013.
The mixed result has not stopped it from planning to raise its dividend.
The company said it expects to propose a special dividend of £14.5m, 5.16p per share – up from £12.8m or 4.54p per share last year.
The company said: “The long term fundamentals of the London market remain sound. We are firmly committed to our organic growth strategy which will see between five and ten new branches each year. All our new branches are performing as we expected”.
However, Foxtons’ share price is currently well below its float price of 210p from September 2013 and nearly 50 per cent down on a year ago.