A slowdown in transactions has hit estate agent Countrywide (CWD), with the housing market suffering from insufficient supply and tax changes impacting expensive properties and second homes. Total income from the core retail sales business was down 4 per cent to £254m, while restructuring costs and the lack of the prior period's Zoopla share sale bump meant pre-tax profit was lower.
The supply shortage saw exchanges fall 11 per cent outside of London, and 9 per cent inside. The average sales fee also fell by 3 per cent, as Countrywide has had to battle with online competitors such as Purplebricks, eMoov and HouseSimple.
It wasn't all bad news, though. Three estate agency acquisitions during the period helped to shape the group's new London unit, where revenue rose 3 per cent. The surveying business performed extremely strongly on the back of improving productivity, with operating profit rising to £16.7m from £1.3m in the prior period. The mortgages division grew more modestly on this measure at 9 per cent.
Broker Peel Hunt is forecasting an adjusted EPS of 36.1p in 2016, up from 31.6p in 2015.
| COUNTRYWIDE (CWD) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 368p | MARKET VALUE: | £808m | |
| TOUCH: | 367.1-368p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 608p | 312p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 4.1% | PE RATIO: | 19 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 248p* | NET DEBT: | 34% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011** | 509 | -7.0 | na | na |
| 2012** | 525 | -11.0 | -2.2 | na |
| 2013 | 585 | 38.1 | 16.5 | 8 |
| 2014 | 702 | 79.6 | 30.8 | 15^ |
| 2015 | 734 | 47.7 | 18.9 | 15 |
| % change | +5 | -40 | -39 | 0 |
Ex-div: 28 Mar Payment: 5 May *Includes intangible assets of £711m, or 324p a share **Pre-IPO figures ^Excludes special dividend of 9p a share | ||||
