Savills’ share price edges up on dividend hike and strong revenue growth
Savills' share price benefited from a strong set of results and a divident hike this morning, as the estate agent asserted its "resilience" in the aftermath of the Brexit vote.
The company's share price was up 1.02 per cent in morning trading.
The figures
Revenue at Savills was up 14 per cent, increasing from £547m in 2015 to £627.7m this year.
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Profit before tax increased 11.5 per cent to £42.8m, up from £38.5m in 2015.
Savills hiked its dividend 10 per cent to 4.4p per share.
Why it's interesting
Savills was confident in its statement this morning, stressing that its business is not just focussed on property transactions – which have slumped since the Brexit vote.
Other estate agents, such as Foxtons, have been hit by the dip in transactions after the Brexit vote. Vendors scared about shifting their property at the right price have shied away from the market, hitting Foxtons hard.
Savills appears to have weathered the post-Brexit vote storm for now, but if more housing data is released about falling prices, the company will have to think carefully about how to respond.
What Savills said
Jeremy Helsby, Savills' chief executive, said: "The resilience of our less transactionally focussed businesses, combined with our geographic diversity, more than offset reductions in transactional activity in certain markets.
"Looking to the second half, at this stage, in the traditionally quieter summer period and so soon after the EU referendum result, it is not possible to obtain a clear read on the direction of the activity in a number of the group's principal markets, although the fundamental attributes of real estate as an investment class remain strong."
Helsby said the company had "no reason" to change its full year expectations.