Cairn Homes bosses hike revenue forecast to £520m following record home sales
Irish housebuilder Cairn Homes has sold a record number of homes in the first half of the year, as Ireland’s population grows.
The FTSE-listed company has lifted its forecast for the rent of the year, with bosses anticipating €760m (£660.7m) in forward sales, a more than €600m (£521.6m) revenue and 1,500 closed home sales.
The housebuilder enjoyed a revenue jump of 84 per cent to €240.4m (£209m) in the six months to 30 June, up from €130.6m (£113.5m) in the same period last year.
Cairn put the growth down to “strong inward migration” and record high employment levels in the country. Some 547 new homes were sold during the six-month period.
Despite rampant inflation weighing on construction, operating profit surged over 200 per cent to €36.2m (£31.4m), up from €11.7m (£10.1m) a year prior.
The housebuilder’s earnings per share have also more than quadrupled in the period, from 0.9 cents to 3.8 cents a share.
“In the context of the current considerable cost of living increases, likely interest rate increases and unpredictable energy markets, the fundamentals of the Irish economy as one of the best performing in Europe are expected to provide some resilience to the housing market,” Cairn said.