Home builder Cairn Homes said its revenues for 2025 meet its expectations, adding that it is ideally positioned for 2026 and beyond as the "extraordinary" demand for housing continues.
In a trading update for the 12 months to the end of December, Cairn Homes said its revenues rose by about 9.9% to €945m from €860m the previos year. Operating profits for the 12 months were up 12.3% to about €168.5m from €150m in 2024.
Cairn Homes said its strong performance in the second half of the year delivered revenue of about €660m and operating profit of about €126m.
Significant cash generation in the six month period saw its net debt reduce to about €172m at the end of the year from €307.4m at the end of June, it added.
The company said it saw build cost inflation of about 1% last year.
Its forward order book increased to over 3,000 new homes with a net sales value of about €1.15 billion, an increase from 2,361 new homes and €910m last year.
The homebuilder said it experienced an "exceptional" sales environment last year with 22 active selling sites, adding that its sites mainly addressed demand within the First Time Buyer market.
It also said that over 140 apartments was sold to homeowners at its first two Croí Cónaithe apartment schemes, with further launches of this new apartment ownership initiative expected in 2026.
Cairn said that land bought during the year is expected to deliver 4,500 new homes, mainly for the private market in the medium term.
It added that it is now active on six forward fund projects, which allows it to deploy capital in a more efficient manner and enable the delivery of apartments to its State partners at competitive price points.
"With exceptional demand and sales momentum, supportive Government policies and initiatives and a strong macro environment, Cairn expects 2026 to be a year of continued volume and profit growth," the company said today.
Michael Stanley, Cairn's chief executive, said today that it is unlikely that Ireland has ever witnessed the current level of demand for residential homes.
"This extraordinary demand is the result of a decade of significant undersupply of new housing during a period of sustained economic expansion and continued population growth, alongside Ireland's working population increasing from two to almost three million people," the CEO said.
He added that on a positive note, the Government's exchequer surplus has allowed for the introduction of targeted measures designed to increase housing supply across various tenures.
"These measures include increased investment in social and affordable housing, additional support for homebuyers, and new policies aimed at addressing the urban apartment shortage. These are significant steps which will be very impactful," he stated.
Mr Stanley said that with this backdrop, Cairn has made substantial investments in its growth opportunity.
"In 2025, we incurred our largest ever outlay in construction activities and new site commencements. We also acquired new near-term development land in Cork, Galway, Dublin and surrounding counties, and entered into new joint ventures and partnerships," he said.
He said the company now has developments with over 4,000 apartments under construction, including Cost Rental, Social, Affordable Purchase, Croí Cónaithe, Age Friendly Housing and for other private purchasers.
"Larger apartment schemes under construction for our State funded partners are now being delivered at VAT inclusive average selling prices in the low €400,000s," he noted.
"This clearly proves that apartments built to very high quality and energy efficiency standards can be constructed in Ireland at similar costs to comparable apartments in other European countries," he added.
"In addition, our housing delivery will also increase substantially, particularly for our core First Time Buyer market. As a result, Cairn's total output will now reach 6,000 new homes between 2026 and 2027," he concluded.
Cairn Homes will release its full year 2025 results on March 4.
Shares in the company moved higher in Dublin trade today.
