Taylor Wimpey shares surge as housebuilder hikes profit forecast
Shares in housebuilder Taylor Wimpey soared this morning after the property developer said it expects to beat profit forecasts in 2021.
The FTSE 100 firm said that a strong recovery of the housing market means it will beat analysts’ top operating profit forecast of £626m.
Profit will be “materially above” previous expectations as demand for new homes has been buoyed by the extension of the Help to Buy scheme and the Stamp Duty holiday, it said.
The company’s share price jumped 11.39 per cent to 137.35p this morning on the back of the confident trading update.
Taylor Wimpey’s sites have remained operational during the second coronavirus lockdown, with 2021 completions expected to reach 85 per cent to 90 per cent of 2019 levels.
The developer’s total order book, excluding joint ventures, stands at 11,530 homes, up from 10,456 last year.
The order book stands at £3bn, an 11 per cent jump compared to last year, with private average selling prices ahead of 2019.
Taylor Wimpey chief executive Pete Redfern said: “The trading backdrop remains resilient and the quick recovery of the housing market is testament to the underlying strength of demand and supportive lending backdrop.
“We have made good progress in the second half of the year to date, maintaining a robust sales rate and building a strong forward order book.
“Looking ahead, we are on track to deliver full year 2020 results towards the upper end of market expectations and with strong operational momentum and positive forward indicators, our confidence in 2021 has increased. As a result, assuming the market remains broadly stable, we expect to deliver 2021 operating profit materially above the top end of the current consensus range.”