Housebuilder Vistry to double profit in 2021 as Sunak extends property tax cuts
Housebuilder Vistry Group predicted that it would at least double its profit before tax over the coming financial year after a strong start to the year.
As a result of the positive outlook, the firm said that it was reinstating a final dividend of 20p per share. It follows fellow builder Taylor Wimpey in reintroducing payouts this week.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak yesterday used his Budget speech to extend the Stamp Duty exemption until the end of June, as well as introducing a 95 per cent loan guarantee for buyers.
The FTSE 250 firm’s comments came as it reported profit of £143.5m for 2020, down about a quarter from 2019.
The fall came after a year in which Vistry built substantially fewer houses as the coronavirus pandemic forced construction to halt last spring.
It completed 4,652 houses last year, down from 6,884 the year before. However, the firm said construction had bounced back in the second half and continue into the new year.
For the year so far, Vistry said that private sales per active site per week of 0.66 in first 8 weeks, up from 0.64 in the same period in 2020, and the underlying sales rate ahead of the positive start to 2020.
It also hailed its strong forward sales position, saying that it had already secured £1.7bn from mixed tenure forecast units.
Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said: “2021 has started well with strong demand across all areas. We have seen no impact from the national lockdown or changes to the Help to Buy scheme and the expected end to the Stamp Duty exemption.
“We have a strong forward sales position, with 64 per cent of forecast units for 2021 already secured. Assuming stable market conditions, the Group is confident it will more than double profits in the year, with a profit before tax of at least £310m.”