It was a year of two halves for estate agent Countrywide (CWD). It facilitated the exchange of 11 per cent more houses than in 2013, but the growth slowed from 20 per cent in the first half to 4 per cent in the second as tighter mortgage requirements and worries about interest rate increases hit demand.
However, the group is not as exposed to the volatile estate-agency market as it used to be. A full 40 per cent of profits now comes from activities not directly impacted by residential transaction volumes. Last year the lettings business once again grew strongly, with cash profits up by more than a third.
Countrywide plans to expand this non-cyclical side of the business further, which is good news as the transactional market is expected to remain depressed in the run-up to the general election. After that, however, housebuyer sentiment may cheer up following last December's changes to a more progressive stamp-duty scale. Chief executive Alison Platt says 72 per cent of Countrywide's transactions in 2014 would have benefited had the new regime been in place for the whole year. She expects the new rules to act as a tailwind after the market emerges from the election's shadow.
Numis Securities forecasts a 7 per cent increase in cash profits to £130m in 2015.
| COUNTRYWIDE (CWD) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 517p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.1bn | |
| TOUCH: | 517-520p | 12-MONTH HIGH / LOW: | 689p | 404p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.9%^ | PE RATIO: | 17 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 247p* | NET DEBT: | 19% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010** | 478 | -13 | na | na |
| 2011** | 509 | -7 | na | na |
| 2012** | 525 | -11 | -2.2 | na |
| 2013 | 585 | 38.1 | 16.5 | 8 |
| 2014 | 702 | 79.6 | 30.8 | 15^ |
| % change | +20 | +109 | +87 | +88 |
Ex-div: 26 Mar Payment: 7 May *Includes intangible assets of £655m, or 305p a share **Pre-IPO figures ^Excludes special dividend of 9p a share | ||||
