Irish homebuilder Cairn Homes said revenues rose 29 per cent to €434 million in 2019 as it put in a strong sales performance, and announced it would increase its share buyback programme.
In a trading update, the company said it expected to report 1,080 closed unit sales for the year, a rise of 34 per cent on 2018, with a total of 740 in forward residential sales . Some 600 units with a sales value of €185 million are expected to close in 2020.
Excluding non-core site sales, revenues were €402 million for the year, up 37 per cent. Operating profit is expected to increase by 28 per cent to €68 million.
Full-year gross margin is expected to be around 19.6 per cent, down from 20.5 per cent in 2018, but with a stronger gross margin of around 20.4 per cent in the second half of the year.
The company also said it would increase its current share buyback programme, announced in September at €25 million, to €60 million. Cairn Homes will declare a final dividend in March 2020.
"2019 was another year of exceptional execution by our talented team at Cairn. We increased our revenues to circa €434 million, moved 1,080 customers into their new homes and we start 2020 with 740 homes already forward sold," said chief executive Michael Stanley. "With more certainty around Brexit, the robust performance of the Irish economy and the fact that housing supply still falls significantly short of demand, we believe our business model is well positioned to take full advantage and we look forward with real confidence to 2020 and beyond."
Full year results are due to be announced on March 3rd, 2020.
Looking ahead, the company said it expected to generate around €500 million in free cash to the end of 2022.
