Final Results

Crest Nicholson PLC 29 January 2004 29 January 2004 Preliminary Results Announcement Crest Nicholson PLC, the residential and mixed use development company, today announces results for the year ended 31st October 2003. Financial highlights: % increase • Profit before taxation increased to £74.6m (2002: £63.0m) +18% • Earnings per share increased to 45.2p (2002: 38.8p) +16% • Proposed final dividend of 7.5p, making a total for the year of 11.0p (2002: 9.5p) +16% • Compound earnings per share growth 1999-2003 +18% • Gearing 29% (2002: 53%) • Net assets attributable to ordinary shares equivalent to 224p (2002: 192p) +17% • Return on average capital employed increased to 23.4% (2002: 21.8%) Operational highlights: • 1,936 houses sold (2002: 1,899); average selling price £239,300 (2002: £225,100) • Operating profit up 15% at £87.3m (2002: £75.8m) • Development operating margins increased to 15.9% (2002: 15.4%) • 2,121 strategic plots successfully brought through the planning process into the short term housing land bank • Short term housing land bank up 17% to 13,204 plots including 1,031 for resale (2002: 11,264 plots including 504 for resale) • Development portfolio sales value up 18% to £2.8bn (2002: £2.4bn) • Joint venture to develop 315 acre site at Chertsey - 100 acre business park, 215 acre mixed use development • Current housing forward sales position is 10% up at £275m (2002: £250m). Commenting today John Callcutt, Chief Executive, said: "Crest is now recognised as a market leader in the master planning, design and delivery of large scale residential and mixed use developments. Our focus on sustainable development in recent years has been central to our success and is closely in line with current Government policy, so providing further exciting opportunities for us going forward. "We start the current year with low gearing and an excellent land bank which puts us in a strong position to adapt to any market changes. 2004 will also see a growing contribution from our mixed use schemes. Consequently, we are confident that Crest is well positioned to make further progress in the current year and, given a stable housing market, the longer term outlook also remains positive." Enquiries to: John Callcutt, Chief Executive Andrew Fenwick/ Peter Darby, Finance Director Kate Miller Crest Nicholson PLC Brunswick Group Limited Tel: 0207 404 5959 (on day of announcement) Tel: 0207 404 5959 Tel: 01932 847272 (thereafter) The analyst presentation is available on the Company's web site www.crestnicholson.com. CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT Results I am delighted to report another year of record results and to report further progress in establishing Crest Nicholson as the urban regenerator of choice with Local Authorities. Pre-tax profits increased by 18% to £74.6m. Earnings per share increased by 16% to 45.2p. Our year end gearing was reduced to 29%. Our short term housing land bank including plots for resale now stands at 13,204 plots, up 17% on 2002. We also have over 2 million sq ft of commercial space in our mixed use portfolio. Dividend We are recommending a final dividend of 7.5p per share. This will give a total for the year of 11.0p, up 16%. The dividend will be covered 4.1 times. Strategy In this last year, as previously reported, we have exited from construction in accordance with our strategy to focus more clearly on our core business of residential and mixed use development with a strong emphasis on sustainability and urban regeneration. These changes have resulted in a simplification of our organisational structure. Crest is now an integrated residential and mixed use developer trading through seven operating units each of which has residential and mixed use capability. This structure improves our flexibility and responsiveness to market opportunities and allows for some rationalisation of overhead costs. Our focus on sustainable development in recent years has been central to our success and is closely in line with current Government policy, so providing further exciting opportunities for us going forward. We are supportive of Government efforts to increase the supply of new homes to the areas of greatest need and are continuing to explore ways of making our product more affordable to a wider range of purchasers, whilst at the same time further improving quality, design and sustainability. Crest's leadership in this field has been evidenced by numerous awards including the award of a Gold Standard "Building for Life" by the Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment (CABE) for our development at Port Marine, Bristol. It is important to our future that we remain sympathetic to the way the Government is thinking on residential and mixed use development, so I am very pleased that John Callcutt, our Chief Executive, has been asked by the Office of The Deputy Prime Minister to join the Sustainable Buildings Task Group. Board As previously reported, we have made a number of Board changes this year. Of the executive directors, Don Ross resigned on the sale of Pearce Construction. Peter Murray retired from the Board in October. After some 25 years as Finance Director, Clive Littler retired in August and Bob Erith, Senior Independent Director, also retired in August. We would thank them for their significant contributions to the Group and wish them all the best for the future. We welcome three new directors, all of whom seek re-election at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting; Peter Darby who has succeeded Clive as Finance Director, Stephen Lidgate and Richard Scholes, who are both non-executive Directors. As a consequence of these changes, the Board is now smaller and more evenly split between executive and non-executive Directors. OPERATING REVIEW Market Positioning In accordance with its strategy, Crest is now well recognised as a market leader in the master planning, design and delivery of large scale residential and mixed use developments. These capabilities are well suited to participation in current government initiatives designed to remedy housing shortfalls. Public bodies have recognised the economic and social need to create an increased supply of affordably priced housing within neighbourhoods which combine residential, commercial and leisure uses. This is particularly true in Crest's traditional areas of operation. The redevelopment of urban and urban edge areas into sustainable communities for modern living is a political imperative but one currently impeded by the non-responsive planning system. It remains to be seen what changes will be made as a result of the Barker inquiry and if they will increase the flow of homes where they are most needed. Crest's proven skills in large scale residential and mixed use developments are well suited to urban regeneration opportunities. Our reputation for design quality and appreciation of sustainability issues make us an ideal partner for public sector bodies. We are already working successfully with public sector partners and gaining a reputation for delivering innovative and sustainable solutions. This creates exciting new opportunities for the future. Trading Performance 2003 was another excellent year for Crest, with pre-tax profits up 18.4% to a new record of £74.6m (2002: £63.0m). In terms of units taken to profit, we achieved 1,936 unit sales, a slight increase from 1,899 units in 2002. Open market units fell marginally from 1,662 to 1,628 but this was more than offset by an increase in housing association units from 237 to 308. In line with our strategy, we expect to increase our overall unit output in the current year by over 20%. The average selling price of open market housing units was £258,000 (2002: £240,000). The increasing proportion of housing association sales reduces the 2003 average selling price to £239,000, but this was nevertheless still 6% up on £225,000 for 2002. We enjoyed some house price inflation in the Midlands and the South West but in the South East there was some price weakness at prices above £400,000. Due to our strategy to reduce our exposure to high priced South East units, the growth in our Midlands region and the expected doubling of our social housing units in 2004, we expect the Group average selling price to fall by about 10% in the current year. The summer months were unusually buoyant and we took maximum advantage of this to secure year on year volume growth and a solid forward sales position for 2004. Second half open market net reservations were 36% up, leaving the full year 6% ahead of 2002. Our forward sales position at the year end is solid at £193m (2002: £192m), representing about five months worth of 2003 housing sales. Our current forward sales position is £275m (2002: £250m). Sales of housing land continue to be an integral part of Crest's method of operation. As part of our strategy we assemble large sites and create substantial land value as we bring them through the planning process and start the development phase. In order to deliver consistent profit growth and a good return on capital to our shareholders and also to rebalance our housing land portfolio, we will sell land where appropriate to generate profits and cash. Housing land sales amounted to £74m, compared with £40m last year. The 2003 increase over 2002 is due principally to rebalancing the South Eastern portfolio. We sold land in the South East which would otherwise have increased our exposure to the upper market sector. We continued to sell land in the South West where our development concepts had been established and we were able to capture a good proportion of the added value. Commercial property sales amounted to £13.2m, compared with £47.7m last year. This reduction is a temporary lull before the flow of sales from our mixed use schemes at Bristol Harbourside and Attwood Green, Birmingham begins to increase in the current year. Going forward, Crest's joint venture with Morley Fund Management to develop the 315 acre site at Chertsey, the former Defence Estates Research Agency, is an exciting opportunity for our future. The 100 acre site to the north of the M3 has the capacity to accommodate a premier office business park in excess of 1m sq ft. The joint venture will promote a substantial mixed use development on the remaining 215 acres to the south of the M3. After a master planning period of two to three years, Chertsey is expected to deliver profits over a 10 year period. Build cost pressures have been well contained. Material prices have shown little change and we continue to benefit from trading agreements with major suppliers. However, subcontract labour rates are rising not least because of a shortage of skilled tradesmen. Operating margins at 15.9% are a significant improvement on the 15.4% achieved in 2002 and the ROCE improvement from 21.8% to 23.4% is pleasing. Crest's Housing and Commercial Portfolios Crest's housing land strategy has been to acquire sites that are well located and where units should continue to sell in more difficult markets. We continue to put greater emphasis on middle and lower priced sectors. In the course of the year we have tightened our land buying benchmarks to improve the resilience of the short term housing land portfolio to any possible softening in trading conditions. The short term housing land portfolio now stands at 13,204 units, up 17% on 2002. Included in this are 1,031 plots held for resale (2002: 504 plots held for resale). The short term housing portfolio held for development has a current development value of £2,287m. Based on 2003 housing turnover of £463m, this represents about a five year land supply. We have continued to reduce our exposure to upper market sector product and the anticipated average selling price of the units held in the land bank at October 2003 was £188,000, which is £10,000 lower than at the beginning of the year. In 2003, we had significant successes at Stowmarket, Red Lodge and Hinckley in bringing forward 2,121 strategic plots into the short term housing portfolio. These will contribute to profits in 2004 and beyond. The strategic housing land portfolio now stands at 804 acres controlling 13,236 plots. At October 2003, the commercial land portfolio stood at over 2 million square feet and had a current development value of approximately £479m. The majority of this relates to the mixed use schemes at Bristol Harbourside, Attwood Green, Birmingham, Hemel Hempstead, Farnham and Chertsey. Finance The Company's financial position continues to strengthen. Shareholders' funds at 31 October 2003 increased 16% to £285.5m. Net assets per ordinary share are equivalent to 224p per share compared to 192p per share at October 2002, an increase of 17%. We continue to improve the return we obtain on our assets. Operating profit of £87.3m represents a return on average capital employed of 23.4% compared to 21.8% last year. Net borrowings at the year end were £81.9m (2002: £131.8m), representing gearing of 29% (2002: 53%). Net interest costs at £12.7m were at a similar level to 2002 but with cover of 6.9 times, compared with 5.9 times in 2002. Outlook We remain focused on delivering shareholder value by implementing a corporate strategy which achieves profit growth and good returns on capital whilst minimising risk. We start the current year with low gearing and an excellent land bank which puts us in a strong position to adapt to any changes in market conditions. After several years of strong house price inflation we expect to see a more stable market emerging in 2004, which we welcome. Our response to this market outlook has been to reduce our exposure to the upper market sector, to increase our social housing output and to tighten our land buying criteria. 2004 will also see a growing contribution from our mixed use schemes. Consequently, we are confident that Crest is well positioned to make further progress in the current year and, given a stable housing market, the longer term outlook also remains positive. STATEMENT OF RESULTS for the year ended 31st October 2003 2003 2002 £m £m £m £m Turnover - including joint ventures 574.4 696.4 (Note 1) Less: attributable to joint ventures (12.0) (10.4) ------ ------ Group turnover - continuing 538.5 505.1 operations Group turnover - discontinued 23.9 562.4 180.9 686.0 operations ------ ------ Cost of sales (423.7) (553.2) ------ ------ Gross profit 138.7 132.8 Operating costs (50.8) (59.5) ------ ------ Group operating profit - continuing 87.9 75.7 Group operating profit - - 87.9 (2.4) 73.3 discontinued ------ ------ Operating profit of joint ventures - (0.6) 3.5 continuing Operating loss of joint ventures - - (0.6) (1.0) 2.5 discontinued ------ ------ ------ ------ Operating profit - including joint 87.3 75.8 ventures (Note 1) Net interest payable (12.7) (12.8) ------ ------ Profit before taxation (Note 1) 74.6 63.0 Taxation (23.0) (19.0) ------ ------ Profit for the financial year 51.6 44.0 Preference dividends (2.1) (2.1) ------ ------ Profit attributable to ordinary 49.5 41.9 shareholders Ordinary dividends (12.2) (10.3) ------ ------ Retained profit 37.3 31.6 ====== ====== Earnings per share (Note 2) Basic 45.2p 38.8p Diluted 44.7p 38.2p Dividends per share 11.0p 9.5p CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET At 31st October 2003 2003 2002 £m £m £m £m Fixed assets Tangible assets 2.1 3.8 Investments in joint ventures 15.6 10.1 Other investments - 0.6 -------- ------- 17.7 14.5 Current assets Stocks 651.6 598.3 Debtors 125.9 169.8 Cash at bank and in hand 55.2 18.3 -------- ------- 832.7 786.4 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (300.9) (244.0) -------- ------- Net current assets 531.8 542.4 -------- ------- Total assets less current 549.5 556.9 liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year (262.9) (308.7) Provisions for liabilities and (1.1) (1.1) charges -------- ------- (264.0) (309.8) -------- ------- 285.5 247.1 ======== ======= Shareholders' funds (Note 3) 285.5 247.1 ======== ======= Net borrowings 81.9 131.8 Gearing 29% 53% Net assets per ordinary share (Note 4) 224p 192p CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT For the year ended 31st October 2003 2003 2002 £m £m £m £m Net cash inflow from operating 88.7 15.1 activities Returns on investments and servicing of finance Interest received 0.3 0.4 Interest paid (13.2) (14.0) Preference dividends paid (2.1) (2.1) ------ ------ Net cash outflow from returns on (15.0) (15.7) investments and servicing of finance Taxation Corporation tax paid (15.8) (16.3) Capital expenditure and financial investment Tangible fixed assets acquired (0.8) (1.6) Tangible fixed assets disposed 0.3 0.4 Other fixed asset investments (8.7) (3.7) acquired Other fixed asset investments 3.3 0.2 disposed ------ ------ Net cash outflow from capital (5.9) (4.7) expenditure and financial investment Acquisitions and disposals Disposal of Pearce Group 7.7 - Equity dividends paid (10.9) (9.2) ------ ------ Net cash inflow/(outflow) before 48.8 (30.8) financing Financing Proceeds from share issues 1.1 1.5 (Decrease)/increase in bank loan (15.0) 4.2 and loan notes ------ ------ Net cash (outflow)/inflow from (13.9) 5.7 financing ------ ------ Increase/(decrease) in cash in 34.9 (25.1) year ====== ====== NOTES 1 Segmental Analysis Operating Pre-tax Capital Turnover profit profit employed £m £m £m £m 2003 Development 550.5 87.3 74.6 367.4 Construction - 23.9 - - - discontinued --------- --------- --------- --------- 574.4 87.3 74.6 367.4 ========= ========= ========= ========= 2002 Development 515.5 79.2 66.3 379.5 Construction - 180.9 (3.4) (3.3) (0.6) discontinued --------- --------- --------- --------- 696.4 75.8 63.0 378.9 ========= ========= ========= ========= 2 Earnings per share Earnings per share are calculated on the profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of £49.5m (2002: £41.9m), on a weighted average of 109,505,528 (2002: 108,140,464) ordinary shares in issue during the year. Diluted earnings per share are calculated on the profit attributable to ordinary shareholders of £49.5m (2002: £41.9m), on a weighted average of 110,641,033 (2002: 109,576,300) ordinary shares on the basis that 3,156,724 (2002: 4,185,672) share options had been exercised. 3 Reconciliation of shareholders' funds 2003 2002 £m £m Retained profit 37.3 31.6 Net proceeds from share issues 1.1 1.5 -------- -------- Net increase in shareholders' funds 38.4 33.1 Opening shareholders' funds 247.1 214.0 -------- -------- Closing shareholders' funds 285.5 247.1 ======== ======== 4 Net assets per share Net assets per ordinary share is calculated on net assets of £247.5m (2002: £209.1m), after deducting the preference capital of £38.0m (2002: £38.0m) from the capital and reserves, on 110,417,298 (2002: 108,770,923) ordinary shares in issue and ranking for full dividends at 31st October 2003. 5 Statutory accounts The financial information set out above does not constitute the Company's statutory accounts for the years ended 31st October 2003 or 2002 but is derived from those accounts. Statutory accounts for 2002 have been delivered to the Registrar of Companies, whereas those for 2003 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, 25th March 2004 at 12.00 noon. FIVE YEAR RECORD 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Turnover (including joint ventures) £m £m £m £m £m ------------------------------------- Development 383.5 411.4 392.9 515.5 550.5 Construction - discontinued 128.0 133.1 193.2 180.9 23.9 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- 511.5 544.5 586.1 696.4 574.4 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Operating profit (including joint ventures) £m £m £m £m £m -------------------------------------------- Development 46.6 52.2 59.6 79.2 87.3 Construction - discontinued 1.7 0.9 1.2 (3.4) - -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- 48.3 53.1 60.8 75.8 87.3 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Operating margin - development 12.2% 12.7% 15.2% 15.4% 15.9% Pre-tax profit £m £m £m £m £m ---------------- Development 37.3 41.9 49.3 66.3 74.6 Construction - discontinued 2.0 0.8 1.2 (3.3) - -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- 39.3 42.7 50.5 63.0 74.6 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Housing --------- Houses sold 2,479 1,717 1,543 1,899 1,936 Average selling price £121,300 £162,500 £186,700 £225,100 £239,300 Land bank - Short term (units) 6,788 7,778 10,424 10,760 12,173 Average selling price £162,600 £185,700 £185,800 £197,600 £187,900 Land bank - Strategic (units) 11,680 12,562 11,862 13,735 13,236 Balance sheet £m £m £m £m £m --------------- Shareholders' funds 167.2 188.3 214.0 247.1 285.5 Net borrowings 75.2 79.7 102.5 131.8 81.9 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Capital employed 242.4 268.0 316.5 378.9 367.4 -------- -------- -------- -------- -------- Gearing 45% 42% 48% 53% 29% Return on shareholders' funds (average) 24.9% 24.0% 25.1% 27.3% 28.0% Return on capital employed (average) 20.6% 20.8% 20.8% 21.8% 23.4% Ordinary shares ----------------- Earnings per share 23.4p 26.4p 30.8p 38.8p 45.2p Dividends per share 6.00p 7.00p 8.00p 9.50p 11.0p Dividend cover 3.9x 3.8x 3.8x 4.1x 4.1x Net tangible assets per share 121p 141p 164p 192p 224p Note: The figures for the years 1999 to 2001 have been restated to reflect the change in income recognition policy in 2002. 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