McCarthy & Stone first half revenue surges 33%

Retirement housebuilder McCarthy & Stone reported a surge in first half revenue as completions and selling prices advanced.

The company posted a 33% rise in revenue to £250.2m as legal completions increased 19% to 923 and the net average selling price pushed up to £253,000 from £226,000.

Meanwhile, pre-tax profit in the six months ended 29 February was flat at £29m due to costs related to the IPO, although underlying pre-tax profit was up 23% to £39.1m. Net debt stood at £23.9m compared with £82m in the same period last year.

The company noted a strong start to the second half, with the forward order book up 26% to around £306m at 15 April, compared with around £243m at 17 April 2015.

McCarthy said its full year expectations remain in line with previous guidance of 20% volume growth and an improvement of approximately 100 basis points in return on capital employed from the 2015 level of 20%.

The company, which listed on the FTSE 250 in March, declared an interim dividend of 1p per share, with an expected final dividend of no less than 3.5p per share.

Chief executive Clive Fenton said: “Our strategy is helping to deliver strong top-line growth as we continue to address increasing market demand for retirement housing driven by the UK's rapidly ageing population.

“The UK's population is maturing at a fast rate, but continues to suffer from a chronic undersupply of suitable retirement properties of the type we provide. McCarthy & Stone is uniquely placed to capitalise on this opportunity.”