Countryside Properties (CSP) provided further evidence, if any were needed, of the rude health of the UK housebuilding sector. In a maiden set of full-year numbers since flotation in February this year, the housebuilder ticked all the right boxes, pushing total completions ahead by 12 per cent, while average prices on private sales jumped from £385,000 to £465,000.
Reservation rates per open sales outlet edged up slightly despite the number of open sites rising from 29 to 43, and there are another 29 sites currently under construction. On the private homes side, completions were up 20 per cent at 783, and the forward order book grew by nearly two-thirds to £225m.
In the partnerships division, which works with local authorities and housing associations, completions rose by 10 per cent to 1,874 homes including key regeneration schemes at St Paul's Square in Bow and Brook Valley Gardens in Barnet. Countryside is also active in the private rental sector and, in partnership with Sigma Capital, work was started on 21 new sites. Regenerating public sector land to deliver mixed-tenure accommodation has seen the partnership secure bids for 6,434 plots.
Analysts at Peel Hunt are forecasting adjusted pre-tax profit for the year to September 2017 of £136m and EPS of 24.3p, rising to £176m and 31.1p in FY2018.
| COUNTRYSIDE PROPERTIES (CSP) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 230.8p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.04bn | |
| TOUCH: | 226.8-230.8p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 290p | LOW: 171p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.5% | PE RATIO: | 17 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 132p | NET CASH: | £12m | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013* | 277 | -5.3 | na | na |
| 2014* | 453 | -5.4 | na | na |
| 2015* | 547 | 28.0 | 4.4 | nil |
| 2016 | 671 | 78.6 | 13.6 | 3.4 |
| % change | +23 | +180 | +209 | - |
Ex-div: 12 Jan Payment: 3 Feb *Pre-IPO figures | ||||
