Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey’s first-half financial performance has been ravaged by one-off and exceptional charges that mask a resilience in underlying completions.
The firm delivered increased home completions in the first half of 2025 but posted a loss before tax of £92.1 million, down from a £99.7 million profit in the same period last year, as exceptional charges weighed heavily on results.
Taylor Wimpey shares were down 5% in early trade on Wednesday.
The company completed 5,264 homes across the group, including joint ventures, marking an 11% increase from 4,728 homes in the first half of 2024. This robust performance reflects improved demand conditions and the company’s focus on high-quality locations.
Taylor Wimpey’s increasing completions are in sharp contrast to competitors such as Barratt Redrow, who recently announced falling completions.
Costs & Charges
Group operating profit fell to £161.0 million from £182.3 million in the prior year. The decline was driven by a £20.0 million unexpected charge for principal contractor remediation works on a historical site, which the company described as an exceptional item affecting underlying performance.
Operating profit represents the company’s earnings from its core housebuilding activities before financing costs and exceptional items, making it a key measure of operational efficiency.
The shift from profit to loss was primarily caused by two significant one-off charges. Taylor Wimpey increased its cladding fire safety provision by £222.2 million, largely due to increased cavity barrier remediation work behind brickwork and render on existing developments. The company also set aside £18.0 million for costs related to Competition and Markets Authority proceedings.
These exceptional charges reflect ongoing industry-wide costs stemming from building safety reforms following the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
Taylor Wimpey Dividend
Taylor Wimpey declared an interim dividend of 4.67 pence per share, slightly down from 4.80 pence in 2024. The reduction in the dividend was in line with its ordinary dividend policy, which aims to pay out 7.5% of net assets or at least £250 million annually.
The dividend policy is designed to provide investors with a predictable income stream even during market downturns. And it’s delivering.
Since implementing this approach in 2018, Taylor Wimpey has returned £2.7 billion to shareholders.
Despite the challenging results, Taylor Wimpey maintained its full-year guidance, expecting UK completions of 10,400 to 10,800 homes and group operating profit of approximately £424 million, which reflects the additional £20.0 million charge incurred in the first half.