REG - Clarion Funding plc Affinity SutCapMkt - Quarterly performance update

NatwestAnnouncement

28/04/2021 13:10

RNS Number : 9053W
  
Clarion Funding plc
  
28 April 2021
  
 

Clarion Funding plc
CLARION HOUSING GROUP Q4 2020/21 PERFORMANCE UPDATE
Clarion Housing Group's Quarterly Performance Update covering the period to 31 March 2021
Clarion Housing Group announces the following update ahead of its Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2021. 
Note: Figures quoted in the update are based on unaudited management accounts which are subject to review and further adjustments, for example in the areas of pensions, investment property and financial instrument valuation and taxation. Comparative data is from the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2020 ("2019/20").
 
Financial performance 
The unaudited management accounts for the 12 months to 31 March 2021 show a turnover of £943 million (2019/20: £842 million), delivering an operating surplus of £254 million (2019/20: £293 million) and a full year pre-tax net surplus of £113 million (2019/20: £170 million). The 2019/20 results included £38 million from large scale stock transfers and one-off gains of £16 million in interest costs - excluding these items, operating surplus is £1 million below the prior year and net surplus £3 million below - an extremely strong result demonstrating a very resilient financial performance
All of the Group's surplus has been reinvested in its social housing and its new homes programme with £94 million invested in existing stock (2019/20: £102 million) and £626 million invested in new homes (2019/20: £631 million). Fire safety remains a key priority and a total of £26.7 million was spent on our remedial programme. 
Housing Fixed Assets stood at £7.78 billion, up from £7.44 billion as at 31 March 2020. Drawn debt was £4.32 billion, up from £3.89 billion as at 31 March 2020. Liquidity stood at £1.07 billion (31 March 2020: £0.90 billion) with committed and fully secured loan facilities at £5.27 billion (31 March 2020: £4.83 billion).  During the quarter the Group raised further funding via a £50 million tap of its 2048 notes utilising its EMTN programme documentation. It also arranged a 10-year £100 million sustainability linked term loan with NatWest.
Operational performance
Despite challenging operating conditions, the Group is pleased to report it has maintained its overall customer satisfaction target of 80% throughout the year - last measured at 81.2%. Repairs satisfaction was last measured at 88.8%, exceeding the internal target of 85%.
Arrears improved in the quarter reducing to 5.7% from 6.1%. Our tenancy sustainment teams and our charitable foundation, Clarion Futures, continue to provide a range of support and advice for residents facing financial difficulties.
Working with our contractors, the Group was able to deliver a record number of new homes. 2,126 homes were completed (2019/20: 2,101), 90% of which were for affordable tenures, while 2,335 homes were started (2019/20: 2,572). The current development pipeline stands at 20,016 homes.
Given the challenging trading environment, outright market and shared ownership sales performed well, generating a sales income of £213.3 million (2019/20: £127.4 million), with a margin of 11% (2019/20: 13%) prior to any final adjustments.
Sustainability
Clarion has formed part of a successful bidding partnership for the government's Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund. £4.5 million has been awarded to Clarion with partners Fenland District Council and Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council, which is being matched by a further £4.5 million direct investment from Clarion.
The funds will be used to significantly upgrade 160 of the most energy inefficient Clarion homes in Fenland and Tonbridge & Malling, which currently have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating of D or below. Clarion and its partner contractors will deliver the work, using innovative methods to improve energy efficiency in their homes.
Supporting our residents and communities
The support for our residents delivered through Clarion Futures has proved vital over the past year. Clarion Futures has invested a total of £12 million, including £3.2 million from external sources, in our residents and communities. We have targeted and adapted our services to meet changing needs, and almost all areas of Clarion Futures' work have exceeded their COVID-adjusted targets. A total of 2,558 people have been supported into work, including 215 apprenticeships and 188 people who were helped to set up their own business. Crucially, 82% of the people we supported into work sustained their employment beyond six months. Unsurprisingly given the impacts of the pandemic on employment, our money guidance team delivered a significant increase in support on the previous year, with 20,632 actions undertaken (2019/20: 16,201).
In April 2020, Clarion Futures established a COVID response grant programme that has proved to be a lifeline for many of our longstanding partners struggling to cope with a surge of demand for support, coupled with a need to adapt services during the pandemic. During the year, we have awarded a total of £725,610 to organisations including food banks, community groups and local charities tackling issues such as loneliness and isolation.
Financial Calendar
The next quarterly performance update (Q1 2022) is planned for July 28, 2021. 
The Group plans to publish its 2020/21 annual report on 22 July, 2021.
 
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Patrick Minjauw, deputy treasurer, Clarion Housing Group - 0207 378 5580 / patrick.minjauw@clarionhg.com 
Lucy Pond, senior communications manager, Clarion Housing Group - 0207 378 5555 / lucy.pond@clarionhg.com 
 
Disclaimer
The information contained herein (the "Trading Update") has been prepared by Clarion Housing Group Limited (the "Parent") and its subsidiaries (the "Group"), including Clarion Funding plc, Affinity Sutton Capital Markets plc, Circle Anglia Social Housing Plc and Circle Anglia Social Housing 2 Plc (the "Issuers") and is for information purposes only.
The Trading Update should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities issued by the Parent, the Issuers or any other member of the Group, or any interest in any such securities, and nothing herein should be construed as a recommendation or advice to invest in any such securities.
Statements in the Trading Update, including those regarding possible or assumed future or other performance of the Group as a whole or any member of it, industry growth or other trend projections may constitute forward-looking statements and as such involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance is given that such forward-looking statements will prove to have been correct. They speak only as at the date of the Trading Update and neither the Parent nor any other member of the Group undertakes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments, occurrence of unanticipated events or otherwise.
None of the Parent, any member of the Group or anyone else is under any obligation to update or keep current the information contained in the Trading Update. The information in the Trading Update is subject to verification, does not purport to be comprehensive, is provided as at the date of the Trading Update and is subject to change without notice.
No reliance should be placed on the information or any projections, targets, estimates or forecasts and nothing in the Trading Update is or should be relied on as a promise or representation as to the future. No statement in the Trading Update is intended to be an estimate or forecast. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the Parent, any other member of the Group or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers, agents or any other persons as to the accuracy or validity of the information or opinions contained in the Trading Update (and whether any information has been omitted from the Trading Update). The Trading Update does not constitute legal, tax, accounting or investment advice.
www.clarionhg.com 
 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our Privacy Policy.
 
  END
 
 
UPDGZGZDMRKGMZM