- 2023 pre-tax loss of £42.5mn dogged by one-off costs
- Operating profit of £15mn-£20mn forecast in 2024
- Forward PE ratio of 9.4 (2024)
Annual results from Watkin Jones (WJG:50p), a developer specialising in purpose-built student accommodation (PBSA) and build-to-rent (BTR) housing, were in line with guidance at the pre-close trading update in October. It still didn’t make for comfortable reading.
The group’s full-year reported pre-tax loss of £42.5mn included £39.6mn of exceptional charges including £35mn for building safety remedial works, £3.1mn of restructuring costs (mainly headcount) and £1.5mn of additional exceptional interest costs. Adjust for one-off items, and the group plunged from an underlying profit before tax of £48.8mn in the 2022 financial year to a loss of £2.9mn on 2 per cent higher revenue of £413mn.