Cairn Homes (CRN) grew rapidly in 2017, taking advantage of the supply/demand imbalance for living space in and around Dublin. Unit sales nearly quadrupled to 418, while average selling prices rose from €295,000 (£263,000) to €315,000, and there is already a forward sales pipeline on 383 units. However, this is just the tip of the iceberg because the greater Dublin area needs at least 20,000 new homes each year for the next 10 years against completions in 2017 of just 4,000.
With such an imbalance, it’s not surprising that Cairn received a number of enquiries from overseas buyers. Consequently, the Six Hanover Key development is being put up for sale with a view to selling the entire 120-apartment, restaurant and cafe complex, even though completion is not until the first quarter of 2019.
Net finance costs rose from €5.1m to €8.5m, reflecting a new €50m drawdown facility agreed in July 2017. Overall net debt increased from €76m to €159.4m year on year, even though further non-core disposals were made, realising €16.8m, up from €4.2m a year earlier.
| CAIRN HOMES (CRN) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 176p | MARKET VALUE: | €1.34bn | |
| TOUCH: | 175.6-175.8¢ | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 200¢ | LOW: 127¢ |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 293 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 95¢ | NET DEBT: | 22% | |
| Year to 31 Dec | Turnover (€m) | Pre-tax profit (€m) | Earnings per share (¢) | Dividend per share (¢) |
| 2015* | 3.7 | -37.5 | -15.9 | nil |
| 2016 | 40.9 | -2.8 | -0.3 | nil |
| 2017 | 149.5 | 6.0 | 0.6 | nil |
| % change | +265 | - | - | - |
| Ex-div: | - | |||
| Payment: | - | |||
| From incorporation in 12 Nov 2014 to 31 Dec 2015 £1=€1.122 | ||||
