Housebuilder and strategic land specialist MJ Gleeson (GLE) continued it renaissance in the wake of a major restructuring, boosting revenue strongly at the half-year stage and turning the previous year's loss into a profit. Moreover, there's a net cash pile and the half-year dividend has been resumed.
On the homebuilding side, Gleeson Homes pushed private sales ahead by 53 per cent to 164 units and, while average prices fell from £117,000 to £115,000, this was an expected consequence of a strategic decision to concentrate on building low-cost homes in regeneration areas. However, the proportion of units sold on higher-margin land rose significantly and the percentage of sales from low-margin sites fell from 75 per cent to 34 per cent. The group was operating out of 27 sites at the year-end and a further eight are expected to open before June.
On the strategic land side, turnover doubled to £7m and operating profits rose 55 per cent to £1.7m, reflecting three land sales comprising 13 acres. Contracts have also been exchanged on the sale of a 77-acre site in Thanet in which the group has a half share. Six new sites, comprising 126 acres, were also acquired - maintaining the strategic land bank at 3,608 acres, or a potential 22,100 plots.
MJ GLEESON (GLE) | ||||
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ORD PRICE: | 182p | MARKET VALUE: | £96m | |
TOUCH: | 182-183p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 191p | LOW: 104p |
DIVIDEND YIELD*: | 0.3% | PE RATIO: | 22 | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 193p | NET CASH: | £10.2m |
Half-year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
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2011 | 18.8 | -0.20 | -0.39 | nil* |
2012 | 26.1 | 1.33 | 2.48 | 0.50 |
% change | +39 | - | - | - |
Ex-div: 6 Mar Payment: 5 Apr *Excludes 5p special dividend, paid in December 2011 |