The UK's second biggest homebuilder Persimmon has today forecast higher profit margins for the 2021 fiscal year as demand for new homes remained strong.
Persimmon's update coincides with a tough week for UK homebuilders on the regulatory front.
The UK has asked top construction firms to pay for a larger share of the estimated £15 billion cost of removing flammable cladding on apartment blocks.
UK homebuilders, nevertheless, have outperformed the broader real estate sector since the coronavirus pandemic.
The preference for larger homes suitable for remote working, cheap loans, and an extended tax break that expired in September have kept the undersupplied housing market resilient.
Red-hot house prices in the UK have helped homebuilders stave off cost pressures from supply chain disruptions and labour shortages.
Persimmon said it expects its 2021 underlying operating margin to be about 28%, 0.4 percentage points above the year-ago period, while revenue rose 8.4% to £3.61 billion.
The company constructed 14,551 new homes, compared with 13,575 units a year earlier.
Its forward sales, the contract signed between buyers and homebuilders for a purchase-and-sale agreement at a fixed future date, stood at £1.62 billion, 20% ahead of pre-pandemic levels.
Persimmon also said Jason Windsor, the group CFO with insurance firm Aviva, is expected to join the company during the summer and will replace current CFO Mike Killoran, who is retiring this month.
