Countryside Properties (CSP) exceeded its own expectations in the year to September, with the return on capital employed jumping from 30.6 per cent to 37.1 per cent, while adjusted operating margins increased from 16.1 per cent to 17.2 per cent.
The advance was spearheaded by its partnership business, where it works with local authorities and housing associations in regenerating public sector land. Completions here were up more than a third at 3,019 homes, while 1,276 private homes were completed, up 7 per cent from a year earlier.
That momentum has continued into the new financial year, with net reservations in the first seven weeks in line with the same period last year. Completions growth for the medium term is targeted to be between 10 and 15 per cent, while the year to September 2019 should see completions increase by over 30 per cent, thanks to the Westleigh acquisition.
Crucially, most of this growth will come through the private rental sector, reducing its exposure to the more cyclical private homes market to around 35 per cent of total completions. The current order book stands at £900m, up 40 per cent from the previous year.
Analysts at Peel Hunt are forecasting adjusted pre-tax profits for the year to September 2019 of £210.6m and EPS of 39.2p (up from £196.4m and 35.7p in 2018).
| COUNTRYSIDE PROPERTIES (CSP) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 278.8p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.25bn | |
| TOUCH: | 278.6-279p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 387p | LOW: 266p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.9% | PE RATIO: | 8 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 176p | NET CASH | £45m | |
| Year to 30 Sep | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2014* | 0.45 | -5 | na | na |
| 2015* | 0.55 | 28 | 4.4 | nil |
| 2016 | 0.67 | 79 | 13.6 | 3.4 |
| 2017 (restated) | 0.85 | 148 | 27.2 | 8.4 |
| 2018 | 1.02 | 181 | 33.1 | 10.8 |
| % change | +20 | +22 | +22 | +29 |
| Ex-div: | 20 Dec | |||
| Payment: | 08 Feb | |||
| *Pre-IPO figures | ||||
