Cairn Homes shares rise on bullish 2024 outlook

In a pre-close trading update for 2023, the company said it closed 1,741 new home sales last year, up from 1,526 in 2022, generating a revenue of €665m, up from €617.4m previously.

Cairn said it made an operating profit of €113.4m, up from €103m the year before, as the operating margin improved to 17% from 16.7%.

It ended the year with a forward order book over over €900m and 2,350 homes, compared with a value of €374m at the end of 2022.

"Momentum is very strong entering the year with over 500 new homes due to close in the first three months of the year and 1,600 of our current forward sales pipeline expected to close in 2024," the company said in a statement.

"Cairn is therefore poised to deliver an exceptional output and financial performance in 2024, and expects to deliver year-on-year turnover and profit growth of c. 30%."

As a result, operating profits are expected to come in at around €415m.

'We are building record numbers of new homes and we have delivered our strongest ever operational and financial performance in 2023. Continued reinvestment in our building platform and a €900 million sales pipeline as we start the new year leaves us poised to grow our business by a further 30% in 2024," said chief executive Michael Stanley.

The stock was up 5.5% at 121.16p by 0945 GMT.