Taylor Wimpey profits up nearly 22 per cent at £827m as builder notes signs of housing market ‘improvement’
Taylor Wimpey said it “acted quickly” to address rapidly changing market conditions, as the London-listed construction group reported 3.2 per cent year-on-year growth in revenue to £4.4bn during the year ending 2022.
The group reported pre-tax profits of £827m, a rise of 21.8 per cent from £678m in the same period last year.
As inflation and a hike in living costs continues to rattle the market, Taylor Wimpey, also said that the average sale price of one of its homes rose 4 per cent to £313,000, compared to £300,000 in 2021.
“In a year marked by two distinct halves, we acted quickly and decisively to address rapidly changing market conditions in the second half of the year and continued to focus on operational excellence and efficiency,” Jennie Daly, chief of Taylor Wimpey said.
He continued: “While the weaker economic backdrop continues to impact the near-term outlook, customer interest in our homes remains good and, whilst it is still early in the year, trading has shown some signs of improvement compared to Q4 2022.”
It comes as a number of home builders have had their shares battered on the stock exchange, after a number of damaging reports on the outlook for the housing market has shattered investor confidence.
Just yesterday, Persimmon Homes and Barratt Developments also saw shares tumble to 9.54 per cent and 3.73 per cent respectively.
Investors are now cautious to inject their funds into the residential market after figures from the Bank of England show that mortgage approvals for house purchases plummeted to the lowest level since the 2008 financial crash.
The number decreased to 39,600 in January from 40,500 in December, marking the fifth consecutive monthly decrease in mortgage approvals. In January 2009 the figure stood at 32,400.
Furthermore, a cocktail of high borrowing costs and inflation has deterred buyers forcing house prices to plummet to its lowest level in over a decade.