Taylor Wimpey revenue jumps 190 per cent after building record number of homes
Housebuilding group Taylor Wimpey has built a record number of homes in the past six months, which has given its revenue a well-needed uplift.
The housebuilder completed some 7,303 homes in the six months to 4 July, up from 2,771 in the same period last year.
Shares were up three per cent in its afternoon trading, at 169.8p per share.
The record first-half performance was due in part to housebuilding delays that struck its fourth-quarter completions.
The extra 4,500 homes sent its revenue to soar 191.1 per cent to £2.1bn – a half-year revenue which nearly matches its full-year revenue for 2020.
The group swung from a profit loss before tax of £39.8m last year but managed to secure £287.5m this past six months.
Taylor Wimpey’s construction was knocked last year by pandemic restrictions which rattled supply chains across the world.
Following the upbeat results, the housebuilder’s boss Pete Redfern said the group expects full-year operating profits for this year to be around £820m.
Redfern added that the group has forecast between 13,200 and 14,000 new house completions.
The group pledged last year to bolster its land acquisition for newbuilds, which Redfern said has been so far successful.
“Backed by last year’s equity raise we stepped up our activity in the land market before competition returned and we successfully increased our land pipeline with high-quality sites that will deliver a strong financial performance,” he said in a statement.
“We are progressing this land through the planning stages as expected, providing excellent momentum for growth, enhanced returns for our stakeholders and increased numbers of new homes.”
Stamp duty holiday
Despite the positive financials, the housebuilding group’s shares are down which AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould and financial analyst Danni Hewson said was surprising.
“The shares are down by a fifth from their spring highs – despite an upbeat April trading update – although they are still some 15 per cent higher than they were a year ago.
“In some ways, that share price slide is surprising, since house prices rose 8.8 per cent year-on-year in June, according to the Halifax, and the government launched its 95 per cent mortgage guarantee scheme.”
They suggested that fears of another lockdown may have spooked investors amid the end of the stamp duty holiday which saw a frenzy of last-minute deals.
“Perhaps investors are nervous about the potential for a further lockdown to hit consumer confidence and demand, and they may also be wondering what the termination of the stamp duty land tax holiday on 30 June could mean for housing demand.”