Cairn Homes to post dividend of 2.66 cents, while demand has ‘never been stronger’
Cairn Homes is set to reinstate a dividend of 2.66 cents per share, while the demand for new homes has “never been stronger”, the housebuilders boss said.
The group raked in a sturdy €131m revenue from 403 closed new home sales in the six months to 30 June, up from €81m from 207 closed sales in the first half of last year.
In the past four months, the housebuilder built 605 new homes worth €253m. The group plans to confirm the price of the dividend in September but has provisionally set a price ahead of its next financial update.
Shares opened higher this morning and continued rising into the afternoon, up 4.26 per cent, taking Cairn’s price to 95.4p per share.
The impact of house price inflation is slightly ahead of build cost inflation, the housebuilder said in a statement.
The group, which has pledged to build 2,500 new homes by the end of 2022, confirmed that it has built over 60 per cent of them, as Cairn boss Michael Stanley highlighted how “the lack of supply has never been more acute”.
“Over the past five years, Cairn’s primary focus has been providing competitively priced starter homes for first time buyers. As our market evolves we will continue to take a solutions-based approach, particularly given the significant challenge customers face accessing mortgage finance,” CEO Stanley said.
“Demand for new homes has never been stronger and the lack of supply has never been more acute. While political debate on housing has raged back and forth, the reality today is that it remains hugely difficult for a whole generation of young people in Ireland to own a family home.”
The housebuilding boss also said that it was important that national and European courts do not ‘stymie’ the planning of ‘thousands of new homes.’