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LONDON (Alliance News) - Irish housebuilder Cairn Homes PLC on Thursday reported a pretax loss and marginal revenue for the first half as it ramps up its activities following its float in London in June.
Cairn launched an initial public offering in London in June, raising EUR384.9 million, and said it has now acquired, or contracted to acquire, nine prime development sites in Ireland at a total cost of EUR130.0 million with an estimated net development value of EUR568.9 million.
Cairn said its developments are progressing well and said it will launch a full marketing suite at its Parkside project in September, along with another at its Albany development in the first quarter of 2016.
The group said its has a strong pipeline of target areas and said its land acquisition team is currently carrying out due diligence on 11 sites, with a total projected cost of around EUR120 million and potential potential housing units of 1,600 units.
The company expects a number of significant land acquisition opportunities to come to market over the coming months, following the quieter summer period, and is confident on its outlook given the improving economic outlook in Ireland.
For the period from November 9, when the company was incorporated, to June 30, it made revenue of EUR51,000 and made a pretax loss of EUR33.1 million, almost entirely due to costs related to its stock-market flotation.
"Following on from our very successful IPO, Cairn Homes PLC has progressed the acquisition, planning and development of premium sites in the Dublin, Galway and Meath regions. The availability of prime development lands continues to be a positive for Cairn Homes, and the company is confident in its pipeline to deliver quality homes in a market where there is an acute shortage of supply," said Chief Executive Michael Stanley.
Shares in Cairn were up 0.9% to EUR1.10 on Thursday.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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