Persimmon brings forward its dividend after bumper profits
PERSIMMON has brought forward its dividend after a surge in demand for new homes last year helped to boost profits by 44 per cent.
The housebuilder said it would now pay out 95p a share to investors in April rather than July. It will be the third payment made as part of a long-term plan launched in 2012 to return £1.9bn to shareholders over nine years.
However, the payout failed to impress the City, with shares falling by 3.5 per cent yesterday.
“After hitting a post-crisis high since the new year, it is understandable to see some profit taking here,” Lewis Sturdy, a dealer at London Capital Group, said.
Persimmon posted an underlying pre-tax profit of £475m in the year to 31 December, with revenue up 23 per cent to £2.6bn.
House sale completions rose by 17 per cent to 13,509, while the average selling price rose 5.3 per cent to £190,533. The group said it expected to complete a similar, or slightly higher, number of home sales this year as last.