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(Alliance News) - Cairn Homes PLC on Tuesday said it generated around EUR215 million in revenue in its first half year and noted the Irish government's "very supportive" housing policy, adding that it expects to deliver another year of growth.
The Dublin-based housebuilder said it generated total core revenue of approximately EUR215 million in the six months ended June 30, closing 535 new home sales across all tenures including private and state buyers. This was however down from EUR240 million in revenue and 547 new homes sold for the same period in 2022.
Cairn Homes also agreed over 1,100 new home sales, saying demand was "exceptionally strong". Its current closed and forward sales pipeline had grown by 300 new homes to 2,230 on June 30 with a net sales value of over EUR800 million. Sales pricing levels were "relatively flat" despite inflation in build costs, which the company expects to reach about EUR10,000 per unit this year.
"Cairn is pleased to be on course to significantly increase our housing delivery by up to 20% targeting between 1,750 and 1,800 new home sales this year," said Chief Executive Officer Michael Stanley. "We are proud to be delivering this volume of high quality, energy efficient A-rated new homes to our customers."
The company said it intends to announce an interim dividend of about 3.1 euro cents per share with its half year results in September, up from 2.9 cents the previous year.
Cairn Homes also said its EUR40 million share buyback programme, announced in early March, was progressing well. So far 21.2 million shares have been repurchased for EUR1.06 on average.
Shares in Cairn Homes were down 0.3% at 99.90 pence in London on Tuesday.
Cairn Homes said the Irish government's current housing policy was "very supportive," citing advantageous schemes such as 'Housing for All', 'First Home Scheme' and 'Help to Buy'. It also described a "buoyant" mortgage market in Ireland, with approvals for first-time buyers up by over 8% in the five months to May this year.
Cairn Homes remains confident that it can deliver further annual growth across its key operational and financial metrics, expecting turnover in excess of EUR650 million with between 1,750 and 1,800 closed new home sales. All forecasted new home sales and "nearly 90%" of expected closings in next year have full planning permission. It noted that as usual unit closings, profit and cash generation were heavily weighted towards the second half of the year.
The company also said it remains on target to deliver over 800 "Social & Affordable" new homes with an approximate 21% core housebuilding gross margin and between EUR105 and EUR110 million in operating profit growth.
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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