Robust demand for new houses in and around London meant another impressive full-year performance for Berkeley (BKG). Moreover, and after forward sales generated £1.45bn of cash, the housebuilder announced a second interim dividend of 59p a share - as part of its promise to return £1.7bn to shareholders in dividends by 2021.
The rise in new home sales from 3,565 to 3,712 was modest, but a change in the sales mix saw average selling prices jump 26.4 per cent to £354,000 - mainly as a result of accelerated delivery of 149 high-value apartments at the group's Grosvenor Waterside development. Accordingly, that change in mix boosted the operating margin from 18.8 per cent to 20.4 per cent. Overheads did grow by £23.7m in the period to £123.3m, but were actually down as a percentage of revenue - from 9.6 per cent to 9 per cent. Strong cash flow and forward sales also helped to finance £315m-worth of new land purchases, covering 10 sites and totalling 3,000 plots. Land acquired included the 15 acre former site of News International at Wapping for £150m and several other key sites close to central London.
Subject to revision, analysts at Deutsche Bank are forecasting 2014 pre-tax profit of £382m, giving EPS of 201p.
| BERKELEY (BKG) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 2,235p | MARKET VALUE: | £2.93bn | |
| TOUCH: | 2,235-2,240p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 2,268p | LOW: 1,263p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.3% | PE RATIO: | 14 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 1,007p | NET CASH: | £44.7m | |
| Year to 30 Apr | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 0.70 | 120 | 71.3 | nil |
| 2010 | 0.62 | 110 | 60.0 | nil |
| 2011 | 0.74 | 136 | 72.1 | nil |
| 2012 | 1.04 | 215 | 121 | nil |
| 2013 | 1.37 | 271 | 160 | 74.0 |
| % change | +32 | +26 | +32 | - |
Ex-div: 28 Aug Payment: 27 Sep | ||||
