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Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey on Thursday said 2022 was a year of ‘distinct halves’, as it expects to complete up to 36% fewer houses in 2023 than in 2022. Annual revenue rose 3.2% to £4.42 billion from £4.28 billion, while pretax profit jumped 22% to £827.9 million from £679.6 million. The operating margin improved to 20.9% from 19.3%, thanks to ‘tight operational controls and price discipline’. The High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire-based company declared a total dividend of 9.40 pence per share for 2022, up 9.6% from 8.58p a year prior. Taylor Wimpey said current trading is showing signs of improvement from the fourth quarter, but its reservation rate is significantly lower than previous years. It expects average pricing to be similar in the first half from the second half of 2022. ‘Following the mini budget of September 23 there was a sharp and significant increase in mortgage rates and this, materially reduced customer confidence and affordability, which inevitably impacted new home sales across the sector,’ Taylor Wimpey said. In 2023, it expects completions to be weighted in the second half and in the range of 9,000 to 10,500 overall, which would be a drop of up to 36% from 14,154 seen in 2022. ‘Looking forward, our business is well positioned with a clear strategy focused on operational excellence, delivering value from our high-quality landbank and strong financial position. While we remain highly selective in our land acquisition and focused on continued tight cost and work in progress management, we remain agile and ready to respond quickly to changing market conditions,’ the company said. Taylor Wimpey shares were 0.1% higher at 118.25 pence each in London on Thursday morning. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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