Bellway, a UK-based homebuilder, has revealed that its financial performance for the year ended 31 July 2024 aligns with the company’s expectations.
Total revenue saw a significant 30% drop to £2.38bn ($3.11bn), attributed to lower forward orders and challenging conditions, especially in the first half of the financial year.
The company reported a decrease in housing completions from 10,945 in 2023 to 7,654 in 2024, with an average selling price slightly reduced to £307,909.
Underlying profit before taxation stood at £226.1m, in line with company forecasts. Meanwhile, the underlying return on capital employed fell to 6.9%.
Reported profit before tax was affected by adjusting items, including expenses related to legacy building safety and aborted transaction costs, culminating in £183.7m. This was a 62% decrease from the previous year's £483m.
Despite a decrease in total housing completions and a 30.1% reduction in total revenue, the company has seen a strategic increase in private reservation rates and a strong forward order book.
Customer confidence showed signs of improvement, driven by stabilising mortgage rates and wages, resulting in a 13.8% increase in the private reservation rate.
The second half of the year saw a rise to 0.58 reservations per outlet per week against 0.43 in the first half, attributed to improving trading conditions.
Bellway chief executive Jason Honeyman said: "The combination of these improving trading conditions and our strong outlet opening programme has generated a healthy increase in the year-end order book. As a result, we are well-placed to deliver a material increase in volume output in financial year 2025.
“We welcome the new government's plans to reform the planning system, which in time is expected to unlock land supply and support an increase in new housing across the country. Against this improving backdrop and if market conditions remain stable, our operational strength and robust balance sheet, combined with the depth and quality of our land bank, provide an excellent platform for Bellway to deliver strong multiyear growth and to continue creating long-term value for all our stakeholders."
