Last checked at 9 Sep 2009 07:00
The Berkeley Group Holdings plc
Interim Management Statement
Period from 1st May 2009 to 31st August 2009
At The Berkeley Group Holdings plc's ("Berkeley's") Annual General Meeting ("AGM") being held today, the Chairman, Victoria Mitchell, will make the following Interim Management Statement, which covers the period from 1st May 2009 to 31st August 2009, as required by the UK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules.
In June, when announcing its results for the year ended 30th April 2009, Berkeley noted an emerging stability in the housing market in London and the South East, following the turbulent market conditions of the previous eighteen months. This stability has continued in the first four months of the current financial year in terms of both transaction volumes and pricing, with cancellation rates at normal levels and forward sales maintained above £600 million.
Berkeley's balance sheet position remains very strong, as is appropriate for these market conditions, with net cash in excess of £300 million at 31st August 2009, as Berkeley has continued to match production to demand and closely control working capital. This cash position is after acquiring Saad Investments Company Limited's shares in certain joint ventures that became 100% owned subsidiaries of Berkeley at the end of July. Being in such a strong position, means that Berkeley remains well placed to take advantage of opportunities as they arise. However, we will only take forward those where we see the potential to add real value through our development expertise and where the terms reflect the market conditions and the true cost of planning and section 106 requirements. In the first four months of the year Berkeley has agreed to acquire a number of new sites, an example of which is Johnson House in Belgravia, London.
In addition Berkeley is continuing to use its development expertise to maintain the value of its existing sites and, accordingly, does not anticipate any land write-downs. The strength of Berkeley's well-bought land bank and the robust trading performance in the first four months of the year, provides the Board with confidence that operating margins can be maintained within the Group's historic range and that the financial performance for both the half and full year will be in line with its expectations.
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For further information please contact:
The Berkeley Group Holdings plc Cardew Group
A W Pidgley Tim Robertson
R C Perrins Catherine Maitland
T: 01932 868555 T: 0207 930 0777