UK’s Taylor Wimpey optimistic for 2015 results

UK-based housebuilding company Taylor Wimpey expects its profit for 2015 to be around £220 million (€312 million), subject to the timing of cash payments on conditional land purchases and after the payment of £308 million (€437 million) to shareholders this year.

Such profits would represent almost double that of 2014, as the company recorded £112.8 million (€160 million) last year.

The company said that the UK housing market had continued positively, with high levels of customer confidence and demand resulting in increased sales.

Operations in Spain have also improved as its newly-acquired sites have driven an increase in its sales and performance. The company expects that the Spanish business will deliver improved profits in 2015.

Pete Redfern, CEO, said, “We have seen an excellent summer selling season strengthen further in the autumn period, with customer confidence high and demand underpinned by rising real wages and good access to a wide range of mortgage products.

“Against this backdrop, we are reporting record order book levels and expect to deliver an improvement in operating profit margin of over 200 basis points in 2015 and a return on net operating assets of over 25%”

Redfern added, “As we look forward, we are particularly pleased to see that the tighter lending requirements are helping to ensure that monthly payments remain affordable and sustainable, which contributes towards a healthy outlook for both homebuyers and homebuilders."