Housebuilder Cairn Homes has today reported lower revenues and profits for the six months to the end of June but said it was upgrading its full year guidance due to strong demand.
Revenue for the six month period decreased by 9% to €219.5m from €240.4m while the company's gross profit was down 10% to €46.5m from €51.7m the same time last year
The company said it had declared an interim dividend of 3.1 cent per ordinary share.
Cairn Homes said the average selling price of its homes - excluding VAT - fell by 3% to €370,000 from €382,000 the same time last year.
But the company said it had seen its its best period to date for sales agreed with a current closed and forward order book of 2,730 homes with a net sales value of more than €1 billion.
The demand for new homes in Ireland remains exceptionally strong across all tenures and product types, the company added.
Cairn said it had 535 new home sales closings in the six months to the end of June, adding that it expects to start over ten new sites in the next 12 months, to support its growth ambitions for 2024 and 2025.
The company said it is expecting total build cost inflation for the full year of 2023 of about 4%, or about €10,000 per unit.
Cairn said that construction of its multi-year 5,500 new home development at Seven Mills in Clonburris in Dublin 22 is progressing very well, with about 100 sales completions forecast in the second half of the year.
The builder said that construction will start on the second phase shortly, and in 2024 it expects to start its first ultra-low energy passive apartment scheme at Seven Mills.
It said this would mark a significant milestone for the development and the company's decarbonisation journey.
It also said that it expects to close sales across a number of new schemes which it started last year, including Lanestown View in Donabate in Dublin, Parkside in Dublin 13, The Tramline in Citywest in Dublin 24, Nyne Park in Kilkenny, Castletroy in Limerick and Woodlands in Cork.
Michael Stanley, Cairn's chief executive, said the company will deliver 1,800 "energy efficient and quality-built" new homes to its customers this year.
"Total housing output in Ireland is likely to remain unchanged at about 30,000. Against this backdrop, we are pleased to be increasing our year-on-year delivery by nearly 20%," Michael Stanley said.
"Seven Mills in Dublin 22 is Cairn's largest development to date and was successfully launched for sale last weekend. We will invest over €2 billion in constructing this new town in the coming years, providing homes for over 25,000 people in this exceptional location," he added.
Shares in the company were lower in Dublin trade today.
