Highlights
Volumes up 8% at 2,725 homes (2014: 2,530)
Sales revenues up 26% to £804.8m (2014: £636.3m)
Pre-tax profit up 32% to £154.0m (2014: £116.7m)
Operating profit margin up to 20.3% (2014: 20.1%)
Return on capital employed improving to 26.8% (2014: 26.0%)
Net debt/equity ratio of 4.9% (2014: 3.6%)
Gross development value of land pipelines up 12% to £10,466m, driven by pricing gains and evolving product mix (2014: £9,342m)
Forward sales at mid-January of £511.8m (2014: £399.8m), 28% ahead of prior year with 37% of this year's forecast secured (2014: 41%)
Dividend of 19.7p up 38% and covered 2.5x by earnings (2014: 14.3p and 2.75x cover); on target for 2.0x dividend cover by 2017
On target to deliver £1bn revenue in 2016 and £1.4bn revenue and 4,000 homes by 2019
Commenting on today's statement, Stephen Stone, Chief Executive said: "I am delighted to report another set of outstanding results for Crest Nicholson, delivering much-wanted new homes for customers and strong returns for shareholders. Since the recent low point of 1,520 units in 2011, Crest Nicholson has increased its volumes by almost 80% and is establishing a strong business for the benefit of all our stakeholders. We remain on track to deliver on our targets of 4,000 homes and £1.4bn of revenue by 2019, which would represent a record level of delivery for the business and a more than 150% increase over our 2011 housing numbers.
The housing market is now more sustainable, underpinned by strong demand dynamics, a benign land market and government policies to improve access to home ownership. We remain confident that this environment provides Crest Nicholson with the opportunity to grow housing volumes and deliver strong cash returns to shareholders over the medium to long term."
