Persimmon PLC (LON:PSN) announced in its latest trading update that it is ‘too soon to judge’ the impact of the EU Referendum will have on the UK housing market.
Persimmon’s said:
“We believe that market fundamentals remain strong, supported by long term unfulfilled demand, and that the UK housing market will continue to provide good opportunities for those companies with the right strategic focus and the balance sheet strength to navigate future changes in trading conditions”
Despite having shares drop more than 30% since Brexit, the group announced that completion volumes have increased by 6% to 7,238 new homes compared to 6,855 homes in the same period last year. Selling prices also increased by 6% to £205,500 compared to £194,378 in 2015. As a result, Group revenues increased 12% to £1.59bn up from £1.33bn in 2015. This results are retrospective and the next set of ‘post-brexit’ results will be watched closely.
In its trading update the company also said they took “good levels of sales” through May and June despite a “period of increasing uncertainty” in the build up to the EU Referendum. As well as improvement in sales, the company said site visitors during the first six months of the year were 8% stronger than the previous year with the group’s total forward sales valued at a promising £1.36bn. This figure is expected to grow over the second half of the year based on pre=Brexit market conditions.
“We remain confident in the Group’s prospects based upon our long term strategy, the hard work and dedication of all our team, the Group’s excellent forward orders, strong land bank and robust financial position” Persimmon said.
05/07/2016