(Alliance News) - Countryside Properties PLC on Thursday hiked its annual dividend following a strong profit and revenue performance driven by growth from all its operations, despite continued political uncertainty.
Also on Tuesday, the FTSE 250-listed housebuilder announced the promotion of Iain McPherson, head of the Partnerships South business as group chief executive officer, with effect on January 1.
He will be replacing Ian Sutcliffe, who will step down from the board on the same date, and retire from Countryside itself on March 31, 2020, after four years in the role since 2015 and six in the group since 2013.
McPherson has been part of Countryside since 2014, starting as managing director of the Southern region of the Housebuilding business, then becoming chief executive of the Partnerships South division in 2018.
For the year to the end of September, Countryside reported pretax profit of GBP203.6 million, up 13% from GBP180.7 million the year before, on revenue that grew by 21% to GBP1.24 billion from GBP1.02 billion.
Operationally, Countryside reported an increase in the number of total completions to 5,733 up 33% year-on-year from 4,295, however the average selling price was down by 9% to GBP367,000 from GBP402,000, due to the shift in the geographical mix to regions outside of London.
The average number of sales outlets increased to 56 from 53 the year before, with year-end active sites up 19% to 137 from 115.
Countryside's total forward order book, including affordable and private sector homes under contract, rose by 30% to GBP1.17 billion from GBP899.7 million the prior year.
Countryside Properties declared a final dividend of 10.3 pence per share, bringing the total payout to 16.3p, up 51% from 10.8p the prior year.
Looking ahead, Countryside said it has started its current financial year well, with net reservation rate for the first seven weeks ahead of the same period the year before. Despite economic and political uncertainty, the group is confident of delivering earnings growth for the year.
"Our differentiated Partnerships division continues to go from strength to strength, while our Housebuilding division is benefiting from operational efficiency and continued capital discipline to deliver improved returns. With strong demand from first-time buyers and ongoing political support, the Board looks forward to delivering continued growth from both of our operating divisions," Sutcliffe said.
Shares in Countryside Properties - which is headquartered in Brentwood - were down 1.5% at 370.00 pence on Thursday in London.
By Dayo Laniyan; dayolaniyan@alliancenews.com
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