Countryside Properties (CSP) came to the quoted housebuilders’ party quite late on, floating in February 2016, but since then its progress has been little short of meteoric. The suspicion in some quarters that builders are dragging their feet on increasing output finds no ground here: Countryside managed a 28 per cent jump in completions to 3,389 in the year to September 2017. That was up on the 12 per cent growth rate in the previous financial year.
Average selling prices for private homes eased a little to £430,000 as the group reduced its exposure to higher-end properties, but this was more than offset by an increase in prices in affordable housing, which was also sufficient to negate build cost inflation. Overall return on capital employed rose from 26.8 per cent to 30.5 per cent, and underlying operating margins edged ahead to 16 per cent.
In the partnership division, where it works with local authorities and housing associations, completions rose 17 per cent to 2,192, while adjusted operating profits jumped 40 per cent to £79.4m. Working with local authorities also means that land procurement is easier, typically comprising public sector brownfield sites, and with such a relatively low-capital model Countryside exceeded its 28 per cent return on capital employed a year earlier than targeted.
Analysts at Peel Hunt are forecasting adjusted pre-tax profits of £190m and EPS of 34.3p for the year to September 2018 (from 27.8p in FY2017).
| COUNTRYSIDE PROPERTIES (CSP) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 344p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.55bn | |
| TOUCH: | 342.2-344p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 373p | LOW: 220p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.4% | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 152p | NET CASH: | £77.4m | |
| 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 | 4.4 | nil |
| 2016 | 671 | 79 | 13.6 | 3.4 |
| 2017 | 846 | 142 | 26.0 | 8.4 |
| % change | +26 | +80 | +91 | +147 |
| Ex-div: | 21 Dec | |||
| Payment: | 09 Feb | |||
| *Pre-IPO figures | ||||
