LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Residential developer Taylor Wimpey Plc. (TW.L) reported Thursday that its trading through the spring selling season has been good, with robust customer confidence despite the wider political uncertainty.
Looking ahead, the company said it remains on track to meet overall expectations for the year but expect results to be weighted towards the second half.
Given the strong sales performance, full-year volumes are expected to be slightly higher than 2018, but margins will be slightly lower due to greater build cost inflation for the year.
In its trading update for the period covering January 1, 2019 to today, the company said the UK market for new build housing has remained stable in the first four months.
Average private sales for the year to date were 1.03 per outlet per week, compared to 0.85 last year. Sales pricing has remained flat relative to the end of 2018. Cancellation rates remained low at 13%.
As at week ending April 21, total order book value was approximately 2.40 billion pounds, higher than 2.16 billion pounds last year. This represents 10,291 homes, excluding legal completions to date, up from 9,050 homes a year ago.
Taylor Wimpey is holding its Annual General Meeting today in London.
Pete Redfern, Chief Executive, said, 'We've made a good start to 2019 and in spite of wider macroeconomic uncertainty, the housing market has remained stable. We are achieving a record sales rate and building a solid forward order book for the year, although we see increased build cost pressures.'
Subject to shareholder approval at the AGM, the company will pay a final ordinary dividend of 3.8 pence per share on 17 May 2019, giving a total ordinary dividend for the year of 6.24 pence per share, an increase of 32%.
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