The closure of construction and sales sites at the end of March lost Countryside Properties (CSP) completions equivalent to 8 per cent of the total amount recorded during the first-half and resulted in the cancellation of five land sales. That was accompanied by a £29m loss of operating profit and £89m rise in net debt, pushing the group’s gearing level above that of most peers.
The loss of those land sales and a 2 per cent reduction in the average house sales price caused the adjusted operating margin to fall to 10.4 per cent, from 15.9 per cent the same time the prior year. Completions were down 4 per cent overall, with private completions suffering the heaviest reduction at 8 per cent, while affordable housing was broadly flat.
The housebuilder has fully drawn its £300m revolving credit facility, while putting in place a £300m commercial paper facility to access the Bank of England COVID Corporate Financing Facility if needed. It also agreed a relaxation of the group's banking covenants until September 2022.
Analysts at Peel Hunt forecast adjusted pre-tax profits of £223m and EPS of 42.1p for the year to September 2020, rising to £244m and 46.3p the following year.
| COUNTRYSIDE PROPERTIES (CSP) | ||||
| ORD PRICE: | 304p | MARKET VALUE: | £ 1.37bn | |
| TOUCH: | 304.2-305.2p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 544p | LOW: 249p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 3.4% | PE RATIO: | 9 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 197p | NET CASH: | 18% * | |
| Half-year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
| 2019 | 507 | 70.3 | 12.9 | 6.0 |
| 2020 | 481 | 43.7 | 8.1 | 0.0 |
| % change | -5 | -38 | -37 | - |
| Ex-div: | na | |||
| Payment: | na | |||
| * Includes lease liabilities of £31.5m. | ||||
