Cairn Homes revenue and profit rises as average selling price jumps
Cairn Homes has reported a 28 per cent jump in operating profit, with the Irish hosuebuilder benefitting from an increase in the number of homes sold and a rise in their average selling price.
Operating profit for the year ending 31 December hit €68m (£59m), according to preliminary results released this morning, while revenue increased 29 per cent to €435.3m.
The homebuilder closed 1,080 sales in 2019 with an average selling price of €372,000, compared to 804 sales at an average of €366,000 the previous year.
“”As Ireland’s most active homebuilder, 2019 has proved to be another very successful year for Cairn with strong growth in revenues,” said co-founder and chief executive Michael Stanley.
Earnings per share for 2019 rose 63 per cent to 6.5 cents, with the company announcing a dividend of 5.25 cents per share.
Cairn said that “strong market demand” for its homes meant that it was looking forward to the coming year with confidence.
The company said it had seen a positive start to the spring 2020 selling season, with strong demand across its sites. Cairn Homes said its year-to-date closed sales and forward sales pipeline has a value of €266.1m across 853 units, compared to €201.4m across 471 units the year before.
Cairn said it expects between 1,250 and 1,300 sales completions in 2020, and is targeting a gross margin of 20 per cent. The figure for 2019 was 19.6 per cent.
“We confidently expect to continue our growth trajectory and this is reflected in the increased medium term guidance indicated today,” said Stanely.
Cairn shares rose as much as 1.63 per cent in morning trading.