Final Results
Crest Nicholson PLC
31 January 2002
Embargoed until 0700 on 31st January 2002
Preliminary Results Announcement
Crest Nicholson, the residential development company with interests in
property and construction, today announces results for the year ended 31st
October 2001.
Financial highlights: % increase
* Profit before taxation £53.1m (2000: £48.1m) 10%
* Earnings per share 32.6p (2000: 30.0p) 9%
* Proposed final dividend of 5.5p,
making a total for the year of 8.0p (2000:7.0p) 14%
* Compound earnings per share growth 1996-2001 47%
* Gearing 44% (2000: 39%)
Operational highlights:
* Increased contribution from concept schemes
* 1,531 houses sold (2000: 1,731); average price of £203,300 (2000: £167,400)
* Residential operating margins increase to 15.6% (2000: 13.0%)
* Residential division operating profit increases to £59.4m (2000: £46.4m)
* Land bank increases to 9,948 plots - £1.8bn development value - c. 6 years'
supply
* Current year reservations to date 15% ahead of last year - total sales
values 30% ahead
Commenting today John Matthews, Chairman, said:
'Our focus in recent years on sustainable development has been crucial to the
success of our business and we have had another excellent year with good
profits growth.
'Our major high quality sites in Southern England are enabling us to take
commercial advantage of the economic and regulatory forces shaping our
industry. We continue to get our developments through the planning process,
improve on conventional planning densities and produce a product that
commands a premium price. We have successfully improved the value of our land
holdings this year and our land supply is now just under six years, the
strongest position in the Group's history.
'This puts us in an excellent position going forward and subject to
unforeseen circumstances, we are confident of the current year.'
Enquiries to:
John Callcutt, Chief Executive Rebecca Blackwood/
Clive Littler, Finance Director Kate Miller/
Crest Nicholson PLC Jonathan Ayrton
Tel: 0207 404 5959 (on day of announcement) Brunswick Group Limited
Tel: 01932 847272 (thereafter) Tel: 0207 404 5959
The analyst presentation is available on: www.crestnicholson.com
CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT
____________________
I am very pleased to report another excellent year of achievement and
progress.
Our profit before tax increased by 10% to £53.1m. In the five years since
1996 profits have increased from £10.0m to £53.1m.
In the year to 31st October 2001 we have raised earnings per share by 9% to
32.6p. The Board is recommending a final dividend of 5.5p per ordinary share
which, together with the interim dividend, will give a total for the year of
8.0p. This equates to a year on year increase of 14%. The dividend will be
paid on 8th April 2002 to shareholders on the register at 8th March 2002.
Our focus in recent years on sustainable development has been crucial to the
success of our business and has put us in an excellent position going
forward. In pursuing this policy of sustainable development we have become
experts in understanding the amount of effort necessary to clear brown land,
in the materials required to build sympathetically with local styles, and in
planning and building the bespoke houses and apartments that our customers
demand. Our success in mastering these skills has been demonstrated by our
ability to get our developments through the planning process quicker, improve
on conventional planning densities and produce a product that can command a
premium price. This has been reflected in a 28% improvement in residential
operating profit.
During the year we improved the value of our land holdings by planning gain
and by increasing the number of plots under our control. Our land supply
position is now the strongest in the Group's history.
Equally important, our reputation for quality and service has received
widespread acclaim both within the industry and by our purchasers.
OPERATING PERFORMANCE REVIEW
Turnover in 2001, including that attributable to joint ventures, increased by
£53.3m or 10% to £608.5m.
Residential turnover increased by £24.2m or 7% to £381.3m. The number of
houses sold was 1,531 (2000: 1,731) with an average sale price of £203,300
(2000: £167,400) and the operating margin increased to 15.6% (2000: 13.0%).
Profit before taxation was £50.2m, a 37% increase on last year.
The Property division made a profit before tax of £1.5m (2000: £10.7m).
Performance in the prior year included the final contributions from large
business parks at Hook and Bristol Parkway.
The Construction Division produced a much improved performance with profit
before tax of £1.4m compared with £0.8m last year.
The Group's balance sheet continues to strengthen through retained earnings.
Shareholders' funds at £231.0m increased by £27.6m.
The net tangible assets attributable to the ordinary shares are equivalent to
179p per share compared with 156p per share a year ago.
Net borrowings at 31st October 2001 were £102.5m (2000: £79.7m) and
represented gearing of 44% (2000: 39%).
During the year the Group took the opportunity to put in place a further US
Private Placement which secured £90m of borrowings at fixed rates for an 8-10
year term. The Group now has total facilities available of £267m of which
£120m is for a term in excess of 5 years and £117m is for a term of 2.5 years.
REORGANISING FOR NEW MARKETS
For some time now we have been concentrating on large concept schemes and
mixed-use developments. Building more complex urban structures is not the
same as building houses or low-rise buildings and Crest Nicholson needs to
marshal its skills and experience to ensure that it can fully exploit the
market opportunities arising from sustainable urban renewal.
Since the year end Nicholson Estates, which specialises in urban regeneration
principally of city centre residential property, and Crest Nicholson
Properties, the commercial property division, have been combined to form one
operation which will trade as Nicholson Estates. This is an important step in
taking our Group forward.
MANAGEMENT CHANGES
I am very pleased that Peter Murray, the Managing Director of Crest Nicholson
Properties, has been appointed as Managing Director of the enlarged Nicholson
Estates.
Peter Nicholson will be retiring from the Board at the end of March. Peter
has had a long association with our Group, first as an executive and then as
a non-executive Director. I wish him well and thank him for his valuable
advice.
I should also like to record our sincere appreciation to all our staff. These
are challenging times and it is so good to have excellent people throughout
our organisation.
PROSPECTS
The housebuilding market experienced a significant reduction in purchaser
interest in the weeks immediately after 11th September. Demand recovered
strongly in December and our own experience over recent months has been of a
strong and sustained demand for our new homes. To date, reservations are
running 15% ahead of last year in unit numbers and, at an average sales price
of £230,000, are some 30% ahead of last year in terms of total sales value.
More substantial increases in production are expected in 2003.
Our focus on major high quality sites in Southern England is designed to take
commercial advantage of the economic and regulatory forces shaping our
industry. The combination of demographic pressure for new homes and stringent
planning requirements is creating a long-term land shortage. Housebuilders
have generally struggled to acquire suitable land and bring it through the
planning system, especially in the southern half of the country. I am pleased
to report that we have experienced no such difficulty and, subject to
unforeseen circumstances, your Board is confident of the current year.
OPERATING REVIEW
________________
RESIDENTIAL
Overview
Profit before taxation increased from £36.6m to £50.2m, the second successive
year of strong profits growth.
Residential operating margins increased to 15.6% (2000: 13.0%). Excluding
profit on land sales and a small loss at Nicholson Estates, operating margins
on residential housebuilding increased to 15.5% (2000: 14.2%).
Sales from our major concept schemes have continued to increase in both the
number of houses sold and average value, accounting for an increasingly large
proportion of the business. This trend will continue in the current year. The
release of several sites in expensive locations in the South East and South
West of England also helped to raise average values. Consequently, whilst
unit numbers fell, turnover from the sale of houses increased to £311.2m
(2000: £289.7m).
The combined performance of three southern regions, i.e. South East, South
West and Eastern, dictated the pattern of rising values and lower volumes.
The Midlands Region, although the smallest, is now successfully emulating the
strategy of the other regions. In particular, the acquisition of Attwood
Green in the centre of Birmingham and several other large, well located,
sites has underpinned the future land supply for this region.
Nicholson Estates accounted for much of the increase in divisional turnover.
It increased its volumes with the sale of apartments on a number of projects
in Manchester, Birmingham and London. Increasing the division's rate of sale
was a fundamental element of the Group's strategy to reduce our short term
exposure to Central London and other city centre markets.
At 1,531 units (2000: 1,731 units), volumes reduced as the Group switched
away from standard house types to bespoke designs for each development. The
positive effect of the introduction of project management techniques on most
large concept schemes is beginning to show with increased production in the
current year and a realistic expectation of significantly increased
production next year.
Housing sales include 192 units to Housing Associations which generated a
turnover of £22.1m, broadly in line with last year's performance. The
increasing importance of sustainability and the consequent need to ensure
social diversity within communities will ensure that this remains an
important part of our business.
Costs were well controlled in our regional operations. Pressure from build
cost inflation abated during the year due to a combination of a slow down in
the economy and housing land restrictions, particularly in the South East.
Cost increases on three of Nicholson Estates' sites adversely affected
margins. Consequently this business incurred a small loss. Two of the
projects have now been completed and the final smaller scheme is
substantially complete. Important lessons have been learned on specification
and design which will stand us in good stead for the future. Nicholson
Estates now enjoys an unrivalled reputation for style and premium quality,
winning the 'What House' Award for best brownfield development for its
Butlers Wharf project at Shad Thames.
During the year the residential businesses realised £70m (2000: £67m) from
the sale of residential and commercial land. The residential element
consisted largely of identified and serviced lots forming part of various
concept schemes. Commercial disposals covered a wide variety of uses with
retail grocery forming the largest category. As well as being very
profitable, disposals create a substantial positive cash flow for
reinvestment in the land bank and are an integral part of our business.
Land Bank
Crest continues to buy good quality sites and optimises their value by
designing attractive and sustainable concepts, frequently achieving higher
densities in the process. Consequently, Crest consistently obtains premium
prices against a background of supply restrictions in the South of England.
The short term land bank comprises 9,948 plots (2000: 7,280 plots) directly
owned and consented. The portfolio has an estimated development value of
£1,836m, an increase of 35% on last year, with an attributable gross margin
of £453m.
Based on last year's house sale turnover of £311m, this represents a land
supply of just under six years.
In the year, 28 sites for around 4,000 houses were acquired of which three
were of particular significance:-
- Attwood Green in the centre of Birmingham was secured just after the
half year. This is a major urban regeneration project and should begin to
generate sales from housing association development and commercial uses
in the current year. Outline planning consent was granted on 17th January
2002.
- Port Marine at Portishead, near Bristol, received planning for an
additional 810 houses on land adjacent to the Group's existing dockside
development.
- Harbourside at Cannons Marsh, Bristol received outline planning consent
in October. This project will be one of the largest mixed use city centre
regeneration projects in the country.
During the year a total of 1,757 plots were transferred from the strategic to
the short term land bank. These plots carried a good margin and have an
estimated development value of £275m.
The Group's strategic land bank comprises circa. 720 acres for 11,900 plots
of which 3,200 have planning or are allocated for development in an approved
or draft plan.
The majority of the strategic portfolio is in the South of England and, of
the remaining 8,700 plots not allocated, most are in an emerging development
plan and likely to receive planning. Further strategic sites continue to be
procured.
The Group's total land holdings therefore comprise 21,800 plots compared with
19,900 a year ago.
Quality and Customer Service
Crest continues to improve customer service and after sales' capability.
Crest is one of a few major builders to achieve the top 'three star' rating
in all categories of customer satisfaction in the DETR Survey for the
housebuilding industry. In October 2001 Crest won the Best Customer
Satisfaction Improvement Strategy in the Building Homes Quality Awards.
We have also recently gained a number of awards for the quality of our
product, winning golds in the What House Awards for the 'Best House' and
'Best Development.'
In the Daily Express British Housebuilder Awards, which takes opinions from
the house buying public, Crest won gold in its size category. We also
performed particularly well in the London Evening Standard Awards.
PROPERTY
The Property Division made a profit before taxation of £1.5m compared with
£10.7m last year. Performance in the prior year included the final
contribution from our very successful Bartley Wood Business Park at Hook and
Bristol Parkway.
The Waterwells Business Park on the outskirts of Gloucester was our most
successful project in the year. Waterwells is a sizeable and well located
business park of over 40 acres close to a large strategic site being promoted
by the Group's strategic land team. Its value should benefit from the
construction of an improved access currently under development to Junction 12
of the M5 Motorway. This business park is expected to be a reliable source of
profits for several years.
Final lettings for retail occupation at both the Debenhams site in Oxford and
the Westgate Buildings in Newport proved slower than anticipated. It is
planned to let these in the Spring.
The sale of the historic Gloucester Docks to the South West Regional
Development Agency took place in the year and a joint venture agreement
concluded. The first phase of the venture will involve the regeneration and
restoration of several warehouses for apartments and restaurants. This will
further enhance the Group's strong urban development credentials.
A notable success in the year was the unanimous vote by Bristol City's
planning committee to grant permission for the regeneration of the
Harbourside project at Canons Marsh, a prestigious and high profile site in
the city centre. This development includes over 400 waterside apartments and
400,000 sq.ft. of commercial space. It will begin to contribute to profits in
2003. The Group initiated one of the most comprehensive public consultation
exercises ever undertaken to ensure that it responded positively to the views
of local interests.
In the year the Marina was opened at Portishead Dock, adjacent to the
residential Port Marine development. There are already 75 berth holders and
the facility has added considerable value to the scheme.
Development opportunities expected to contribute for the first time in the
current year are the Plough site at Hemel Hempstead, a refurbishment in the
town centre of Scarborough and a retail development in the centre of Crawley.
CONSTRUCTION
The Construction Division produced a much improved result with a profit of
£1.4m compared with £0.8m last year. Turnover, including the Group's share of
the joint ventures and work from other Group companies, increased by £15m to
£225m. Excluding Group work turnover was £192.5m compared with £133.1m in the
previous year - a much stronger underlying growth rate of 45%.
Turnover from the specialist niche businesses - Retail and Leisure - exceeded
£100m for the first time. The business benefited from an extensive market
coverage and an enviable customer base which continued to expand during the
year and now includes most of the UK's retail grocery chains and fitness and
leisure centre operators.
The Division's traditional contracting business, Pearce Construction, which
has a strong presence in and around the Bristol area, also had a good year.
Its work comprises mainly low value contracts which spreads risk and ensures
production is less volatile.
Crest Construction Management built a number of apartment blocks in urban
locations for Nicholson Estates. During the year, in order to improve
efficiency, this specialist unit was transferred out of the Group's
Construction Division and will now form part of the new Nicholson Estates
Division. This will ensure that responsibility for the whole build process is
not split between divisions and should improve development margins.
The Division's gross margins improved to 7% in the year and it traded with a
positive cash flow. At the end of the year the division had negative capital
employed.
The order book at 31st October 2001 was £91m compared with £67m, excluding
Group work, a year earlier. Orders obtained for external work are on a rising
trend - £210m in 2001 compared with £153m in 2000. The main support, however,
for the Division's prospects is its extensive blue chip corporate customer
base and that work is largely obtained through partnering or other
collaborative arrangements.
ORGANISATION
As social and environmental issues play an increasingly pivotal role in both
land supply and the form of modern development, housebuilders are having to
adapt to a new commercial environment in which an increasing majority of
opportunities arise from brown land recycling.
A significant proportion of these opportunities includes mixed use
developments where leisure, employment, shopping and residential uses are
either integrated within a single development or in close proximity.
The Group has two separate businesses engaged in urban renewal, Nicholson
Estates and Crest Nicholson Properties and there was an increasing
convergence in product between the two divisions. Since the year end, the
decision has therefore been taken to merge them into a single division which
will trade under the name of Nicholson Estates. The merged division will
combine the cost management and building control expertise in our Commercial
Property Division with the marketing, product quality and style of Nicholson
Estates. This will create a much larger business and reduce the cost base by
eliminating duplication of functions.
STATEMENT OF RESULTS
____________________
Year ended 31st October 2001 2000
______________________
£m £m
Turnover - including joint ventures (Note 1) 608.5 555.2
Less: attributable to joint ventures (10.6) (10.6)
_________ _______
597.9 544.6
_________ _______
Operating profit 63.7 57.9
Operating (loss)/profit of joint ventures (0.3) 0.6
_________ _______
Operating profit - including joint ventures (Note 1) 63.4 58.5
Net interest payable (10.3) (10.4)
_________ _______
Profit before taxation (Note 1) 53.1 48.1
Taxation (16.2) (14.3)
_________ _______
Profit after taxation 36.9 33.8
Preference dividends (2.1) (2.1)
_________ _______
Profit attributable to ordinary shareholders 34.8 31.7
Ordinary dividends (8.7) (7.4)
_________ _______
Retained profit 26.1 24.3
_________ _______
Earnings per 10p ordinary share (Note 2)
Basic 32.6p 30.0p
Diluted 30.2p 28.0p
Dividends per 10p ordinary share 8.0p 7.0p
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET
__________________________
31st October 2001 31st October 2000
£m £m £m £m
Fixed assets
Tangible assets 5.1 3.8
Investments in joint ventures 5.4 5.8
Other investments 0.1 0.3
________ ________
10.6 9.9
Current assets
Stocks 475.6 390.6
Debtors 214.2 169.4
Cash at bank and in hand 47.6 23.8
______ ______
737.4 583.8
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year 290.3 225.2
______ ______
Net current assets 447.1 358.6
________ ________
Total assets less current liabilities 457.7 368.5
Creditors: amounts falling due
after more than one year 225.5 163.9
Provisions for liabilities and charges 1.2 1.2
______ ______
226.7 165.1
________ ________
231.0 203.4
________ ________
Shareholders' funds (Note 3) 231.0 203.4
________ ________
Net borrowings 102.5 79.7
Gearing 44% 39%
Net assets per ordinary share (Note 4) 179p 156p
CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
________________________________
Year ended 31st October 2001 2000
_______________________
£m £m £m £m
Net cash inflow from operating 12.8 33.5
activities
Returns on investments and servicing
of finance
Interest received 0.3 0.5
Interest paid (9.0) (10.2)
Preference dividends paid (2.1) (2.1)
_____ ______
Net cash outflow from returns on
investments and servicing of finance (10.8) (11.8)
Taxation
Corporation tax paid (16.0) (14.0)
Capital expenditure and financial
investment
Tangible fixed assets acquired (2.8) (1.0)
Tangible fixed assets disposed 0.2 -
Investment in joint venture - (5.0)
Other fixed asset investments acquired (0.4) (0.3)
Other fixed asset investments disposed 0.5 -
_____ ______
Net cash outflow from capital (2.5) (6.3)
expenditure and financial investment
Equity dividends paid (7.8) (6.5)
______ _____
Net cash outflow before financing (24.3) (5.1)
______ _____
Financing
Proceeds from share issues (1.5) (0.6)
(Increase)/decrease in bank loan and (50.7) 21.3
loan notes
_____ ______
Net cash flow from financing (52.2) 20.7
Increase/(decrease) in cash 27.9 (25.8)
______ _____
(24.3) (5.1)
______ _____
NOTES
1 Segmental Analysis Operating Pre-tax Capital
Turnover profit profit employed
£m £m £m £m
2001
Residential 381.3 59.4 50.2 316.8
Property 34.7 2.6 1.5 33.3
Construction 192.5 1.4 1.4 (3.6)
Unallocated central liabilities - - - (13.0)
___________________________________________
608.5 63.4 53.1 333.5
___________________________________________
2000
Residential 357.1 46.4 36.6 257.9
Property 65.0 11.2 10.7 30.2
Construction 133.1 0.9 0.8 1.4
Unallocated central liabilities - - - (6.4)
___________________________________________
555.2 58.5 48.1 283.1
___________________________________________
2 Earnings per share
Earnings per share are calculated on the profit attributable to ordinary
shareholders of £34.8m (2000: £31.7m), on a weighted average of 106,749,487
(2000: 105,780,611) ordinary shares in issue during the year.
Diluted earnings per share are calculated on the profit for the financial
year of £36.9m (2000: £33.8m) on a weighted average of 122,398,237 (2000:
120,579,925) ordinary shares on the basis that the preference shares had been
converted and the share options exercised.
3 Reconciliation of shareholders' funds
2001 2000
£m £m
Retained profit 26.1 24.3
Net proceeds from share issues 1.5 0.6
_____ _____
Net increase in shareholders' funds 27.6 24.9
Opening shareholders' funds 203.4 178.5
_____ _____
Closing shareholders' funds 231.0 203.4
_____ _____
4 Net assets per share
Net assets per ordinary share is calculated on net assets of £192.4m (2000:
£164.7m), after deducting the preference capital of £38.6m (2000: £38.7m)
from the capital and reserves, on 107,707,692 (2000: 105,846,413) ordinary
shares in issue and ranking for full dividends at 31st October 2001.
5 Statutory accounts
The financial information set out above does not constitute the Company's
statutory accounts for the years ended 31st October 2001 or 2000 but is
derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2000 have been delivered
to the Registrar of Companies, whereas those for 2001 will be delivered
following the Company's Annual General Meeting. The auditors have reported on
those accounts; their reports were unqualified and did not contain a
statement under Section 237(2) or (4) of the Companies Act 1985.
6 Annual General Meeting
The Annual General Meeting will be held at the Runnymede Hotel, Windsor Road,
Egham, Surrey on Thursday, 4th April 2002 at 12.00 noon.
FIVE YEAR RECORD
________________
1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
£m £m £m £m £m
Turnover (including joint ventures)
__________________________________
Residential 201.9 269.9 309.5 357.1 381.3
Property 22.9 36.7 75.0 65.0 34.7
Construction 128.2 158.8 128.0 133.1 192.5
____________________________________________________
353.0 465.4 512.5 555.2 608.5
____________________________________________________
Operating profit (including joint ventures)
__________________________________________
Residential 23.1 32.3 36.6 46.4 59.4
Property 1.5 3.2 10.7 11.2 2.6
Construction 0.9 0.4 1.7 0.9 1.4
____________________________________________________
25.5 35.9 49.0 58.5 63.4
____________________________________________________
Pre-tax profit
______________
Residential 19.3 25.7 28.3 36.6 50.2
Property (0.3) 1.7 9.7 10.7 1.5
Construction 1.5 0.7 2.0 0.8 1.4
____________________________________________________
20.5 28.1 40.0 48.1 53.1
____________________________________________________
Return on sales 5.8% 6.0% 7.8% 8.7% 8.7%
Residential
___________
Houses sold (incl 1,965 2,210 2,422 1,731 1,531
joint venture)
Average selling price £98,400 £117,800 £124,500 £167,400 £203,300
Operating profit % 11.4% 12.0% 11.8% 13.0% 15.6%
Land bank - Short 5,795 6,329 6,296 7,280 9,948
term (units)
Average selling price £105,500 £128,200 £164,200 £187,400 £184,600
Land bank - 8,010 10,924 11,680 12,562 11,862
Strategic (units)
Balance sheet
_____________
Shareholders' funds 140.1 158.9 178.5 203.4 231.0
Net borrowings 43.1 77.3 75.2 79.7 102.5
____________________________________________________
Capital employed 183.2 236.2 253.7 283.1 333.5
____________________________________________________
Gearing 31% 49% 42% 39% 44%
Return on 15.6% 20.1% 25.2% 26.9% 26.1%
shareholders' funds
(opening)
Return on capital 14.3% 19.6% 20.7% 23.1% 22.4%
employed (opening)
Return on capital 14.1% 17.1% 20.0% 21.8% 20.6%
employed (average)
Ordinary shares
Earnings per share 11.8p 16.6p 23.9p 30.0p 32.6p
Dividends per share 3.75p 4.75p 6.00p 7.00p 8.00p
Dividend cover 3.1x 3.4x 3.9x 4.3x 4.0x
Net tangible assets 101p 114p 131p 156p 179p
per share
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