The prime minister is under pressure, growth forecasts have been cut and companies are warning of Brexit's consequences. You'd be forgiven for thinking we were setting the stage to talk about a British company here, but in this case you'd be wrong. Following the UK's EU decision in June, it's thought no country is feeling the heat more than Ireland, Britain's closest trade and finance partner.
That scenario could shape how Irish companies - albeit those listed and traded on the London Stock Exchange - are viewed by investors, which leads us to private housebuilder Cairn Homes (CRN). Thankfully, in May, the Irish government released its "Re-building Ireland" action plan, which confirmed the intention to raise annual private housing development to 25,000-30,000 units by 2019 (compared with 12,666 in 2015) via new planning initiatives and a UK-style 'Help to Buy' policy.
Cairn's land bank portfolio now consists of 27 separate sites on which the builder plans to develop more than 11,500 units predominantly in Dublin and across the surrounding commuter belt. New homes are currently being built on five sites, with a further five developments commencing in the next 12 months.
Analysts at Whitman Howard still expect reduced losses of €4.2m for the year ended December 2016, compared with losses of €5.5m in 2015.
| CAIRN HOMES (CRN) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 103¢ | MARKET VALUE: | €712m | |
| TOUCH: | 103-104¢ | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 123¢ | LOW: 87¢ |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 1 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 97¢ | NET DEBT: | 5% | |
| Half-year to 30 June | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 0.1 | -33.1 | -85.0 | na |
| 2016 | 16.0 | -0.7 | 0.0 | na |
| % change | - | - | - | - |
Ex-div: na Payment: na | ||||
