McCarthy & Stone completions, sales drop due to Covid-19

(Sharecast News) - Retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone said on Wednesday that it was on course for a full-year underlying loss in line with its expectations as it reported a slump in completions and revenue and said it was being increasingly affected by Covid-19 and related government restrictions.
In an update for the year to the end of October 2020, the company said completions fell to 832 units from 2,402 units the yeart before. The group said it generated full-year revenue of around £197m, down from £725m in 2019, and that the underlying operating loss will be in line with the board's expectations.

McCarthy said the pandemic caused "significant" disruption to the business during the year, leading to nationwide closures of construction sites and sales offices during the first lockdown.

The company has now remobilised 41 of its 44 construction sites, while its sales and marketing activity is fully deployed.

Chief executive officer John Tonkiss said that with Covid-19 infection rates rising and lockdown measures in place, the retirement housing market is expected to remain difficult.

"As a result, group will continue to cautiously and actively manage cash flow balancing investment in land and development to support future sales with the need to preserve headroom in order to enable the group to navigate the short-term risks.

"It is against this backdrop that the board believes the 115p cash offer from Lone Star Real Estate Fund represents fair value reflecting both the future opportunities and risks facing the business."