REG - Persimmon Plc - Q1 Trading Statement

PersimmonAnnouncement

25/04/2024 07:00

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RNS Number : 9243L  Persimmon PLC  25 April 2024

 

25 April 2024

Q1 Trading Statement

 

Persimmon Plc is today providing an update on trading for the period from 1
January 2024 to 31 March 2024, ahead of its Annual General Meeting ("AGM")
which is being held at 11.00am today in York.

 

Dean Finch, Group Chief Executive, commented:

 

"Persimmon has had a good start to the year and is on track to deliver growth
in completions to between 10,000-10,500 for the full year. Our first quarter
performance was in line with expectations, and we saw an improvement in sales
rates alongside firm pricing. Trading over recent weeks has been encouraging
with robust visitor numbers and enquiries, giving us confidence for the
remainder of the year. Overall, our private forward order book is up 18% on
the prior year with the embedded private average selling price ahead of the
position at the start of the year. We are making good progress in expanding
our outlet network and we will continue to position the business for success,
maintaining our focus on quality and customer service, and converting our land
holdings into active developments."

 

Q1 Highlights

                                                Q1 2024   Q1 2023
 New home completions                           1,027     1,136
 Net private sales per outlet(1)                0.66      0.62
 Current forward sales position(2)              £1.75bn   £1.69bn
 Of which private forward sales(2)              £1.14bn   £0.97bn
 Land holdings (plots owned and under control)  c.82,500  c.86,400

 

(1)Net private sales per outlet of 0.61 excluding bulk sales (Q1 2023: 0.58)

(2)Excluding completions in Q1 and as at 25 April 2024 for 2024 figure, as at
26 April 2023 for 2023 figure.

 

Trading

The Group traded in line with expectations during the first quarter delivering
a total of 1,027 homes (Q1 2023: 1,136 homes). This included 852 private
homes (Q1 2023: 902 homes) and 175 Partnership homes
(Q1 2023: 234 homes).

 

The net private sales rate per outlet was up 6% in the first quarter at 0.66,
or 0.61 excluding bulk sales. Customer interest remains good, and our
marketing campaigns continue to generate healthy traffic to sites and online,
despite ongoing affordability constraints.

 

Overall pricing on reservations held firm in the first quarter, with
incentives currently running around 4-5% on average. Our private forward sales
position has increased to £1.14bn with a private average selling price of
c.£283,000 up 6% since the position at the start of the year
(31 December 2023: c.£266,100).

 

Land spend in the first quarter was £145m (Q1 2023: £173m) of which £96m
related to the settlement of land creditors (Q1 2023: £131m). Our owned and
under control land holdings stood at c.82,500 plots at 31 March 2024 (31 March
2023: c.86,400 plots) and the embedded margin of the land portfolio remains
industry-leading.

 

Outlook

We are encouraged by the level of visitors to our sites and are making good
progress in expanding our outlet network. We opened 28 gross outlets in the
first quarter ending the period with 263 outlets, up 2% on the position at the
start of the year. A further c.30 gross outlets are planned to open by the end
of June as part of our ambition to build back to pre-Covid outlet levels over
the medium term.

As previously noted, first-half performance will be subject to embedded build
cost inflation and lower average selling prices, as reflected in the forward
order book at the start of the year. This trend is expected to reverse in the
second half, given the increase in the average selling price in the current
forward order book and broadly neutral build cost inflation since the start of
the year. We continue to expect growth in full year 2024 completions to
between 10,000 and 10,500 completions with an operating margin in line with
the prior year.

 

For further information please contact:

 Victoria Prior, Group IR Director                                              Olivia Peters

 Anthony Vigor, Group Director of Strategic Partnerships and External Affairs   Teneo
 Persimmon Plc                                                                  persimmon@teneo.com
 Tel: +44 (0) 1904 642199                                                       Tel: +44 (0) 7902 771 008

 

 

Appendices:

 1.  Quarterly performance    Q1 2024  Q1 2023  Variance

 Completions (homes)          1,027    1,136    -10%
 Private (homes)              852      902      -6%
 Partnership (homes)          175      234      -25%
 Net private sales rate(1)    0.66     0.62     +6%
 FTB % (private completions)  28%      38%      -10ppts

 

(1)Net private sales per outlet of 0.61 excluding bulk sales (Q1 2023: 0.58)

 

                        25 April 2024      26 April 2023      Variance
 2.  Forward sales(1)   Value     Homes    Value     Homes    Value  Homes
 Private                £1.14bn   4,030    £0.97bn   3,496    +18%   +15%
 Partnership            £0.61bn   3,762    £0.72bn   4,715    -16%   -20%
 Total                  £1.75bn   7,792    £1.69bn   8,211    +4%    -5%

( )

(1)Excluding completions in Q1 and as at 25 April 2024 for 2024 figure, as at
26 April 2023 for 2023 figure.

 

Cautionary statements

Some of the information in this document may contain projections or other
forward-looking statements regarding future events or the future financial
performance of Persimmon Plc and its subsidiaries (the Group). You can
identify forward-looking statements by the terms such as "expect", "believe",
"anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "will", "could", "may" or "might", the
negative of such terms or similar expressions. Persimmon Plc (the Company)
wishes to caution you that these statements are only predictions and that
actual events or results may differ materially and as such undue reliance
should not be placed on these statements. The Company does not intend to
update these statements to reflect events and circumstances occurring after
the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. Many
factors could cause the actual results to differ materially from those
contained in projections or forward-looking statements of the Group, including
among others, general economic conditions, the competitive environment as well
as many other risks specifically related to the Group and its operations. Past
performance of the Group cannot be relied on as a guide to future performance.

 

Please see the most recent Annual Report and Accounts of Persimmon plc and
other disclosures through the Regulatory News Service ("RNS") for further
details of risks, uncertainties and other factors relevant to the business and
its securities.

 

The information in this trading statement is unaudited.

 

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