Taylor Wimpey’s profit jumps over 20 per cent
Taylor Wimpey left 2016 on a high, reporting this morning that its profits jumped more than 20 per cent last year.
The figures
Profit before tax jumped 21.5 per cent, from £603.8m in 2015 to £733.4m last year, and revenue rose 17.1 per cent year-on-year from £3.14bn to £3.68bn.
Read more: Safe as houses? London property price growth will grind to a halt this year
In 2017, investors will receive a total dividend of around £450m, or 13.8p per share, up 26 per cent.
The average selling price of a Taylor Wimpey home grew 11 per cent to £255,000.
At time of writing, Taylor Wimpey's share price edged down 0.91 per cent.
Why it's interesting
The UK housebuilder struck a confident note this morning, saying that the housing market is strong, underpinned by "a competitive mortgage market and low interest rates".
Taylor Wimpey said it had noted that house prices in central London have been falling, but said the capital's overall property market "remains robust". Several housebuilders, including Barratt, have had to cut asking prices for their properties in the centre of the city.
Read more: This is how far house prices have plunged in Chelsea
Price reductions have been driven by higher transaction taxes on homes worth over £1m, but also in part by cautiousness from buyers following the EU referendum. However, Taylor Wimpey said today that the market's reaction to the referendum had been "encouraging" and that low interest rates would provide stability.
What Taylor Wimpey said
Pete Redfern, chief executive, said: "In 2016 we delivered an excellent performance set against an uncertain political and economic environment that stabilised in the final quarter. The outlook for 2017 is for ongoing stability and incremental price growth, which is a healthy backdrop for our business and our customers."
What analysts said
Anthony Codling, equity analyst at Jefferies, said: "In our view, when it comes to UK housebuilders, land is King and Taylor Wimpey not only holds all four kings it also holds the majority of the court cards.
"In our view and bearing in mind UK housebuilding was, is, and will continue to be a cyclical industry Taylor Wimpey's landbank provides it more flexibility than any other housebuilder we follow to manage the cyclical twists and turns."