House builder Persimmon said full year sales rates and prices improved on the same period last year as it announced that Chief Executive Mike Farley will retire at the AGM in April.
The volume of new homes legally completed for the year ended December 31st 2012 increased by 6% to 9,903 from 9,360 in 2011.
The average selling price also rose 6% to around £173,400 versus £163,999 the year before. Revenue for the period increased to £1.72bn, up 12% on the previous year.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
As previously indicated, underlying operating margin continued to strengthen in the second half and it anticipates that it will be roughly 13% for the full year compared to 10.0% in 2011, with its second half margin over 13.5%.
"Margin improvement remains a key part of our strategy, with the medium term aim of returning to underlying operating margins within the range of 15% to 17%," it said in a company update.
"We believe we have made further encouraging strides towards achieving this objective through the launch of new sites offering attractive returns and exercising firm control over our costs."
Persimmon held £200m of cash balances at December 31st 2012 compared to £41m before.
CJ
-
ChatGPT turns three: what’s next for the ‘AI era’?Three years after its launch kickstarted the age of AI, ChatGPT and its maker OpenAI are driving the stock market. But concerns are growing over whether OpenAI will be able to turn its AI dominance into profit.
-
What to do with old £1 coinsThe old one pound coin was demonetised in 2017, but there are still millions out there in the UK. Here’s what to do if you find an old £1.
