Crest Nicholson : Annual Results Announcement for the year ended 31st October 2016

Strong growth in a robust market

Crest Nicholson Holdings plc (Crest Nicholson) today announces its final results for the year ended 31st October 2016.

Highlights

• Sales target of £1bn reached
• Statutory revenues of £997.0m plus £3.3m through joint ventures (2015: £804.8m and £2.4m) - up 24%
• Volumes up 5% at 2,870 homes (2015: 2,725)
• Pre-tax profit up 27% to £195.0m (2015: £154.0m)
• Operating profit margin up to 20.4% (2015: 20.3%)
• Return on capital employed improving to 31.3% (2015: 26.8%)
• Net cash at year-end of £77m (2015: Net debt of £30.6m and gearing of 4.9%)
• Gross development value of land pipelines up 2% to £10,646m (2015: £10,466m)
• Forward sales at mid-January of £533.5m (2015: £511.8m), 4% ahead of prior year with 37% of this year's forecast secured (2015: 37%)
• Total dividend of 27.6p up 40% and covered 2.25x by earnings (2015: 19.7p and 2.5x cover); re-iterating commitment to 2.0x dividend cover by 2017
• On target to deliver £1.4bn sales and 4,000 homes by 2019

Commenting on today's statement, Stephen Stone, Chief Executive said: 'This has been a landmark year for the business. In spite of a temporary impact on sales around the time of the vote to leave the European Union, we have achieved sales of £1billion including through joint ventures, in line with our stated target. We remain committed to, and on track to deliver, our targets of 4,000 homes and £1.4billion of sales by 2019.
The housing market continues to show robust characteristics, underpinned by strong demand for new homes, a benign land market and government policies to improve access to housing. Against this backdrop, we are increasing the number of homes built, opening new sites and ensuring that the pipeline of land that fuels our business is progressing steadily through planning. As such, Crest Nicholson is confident in its ability to continue growing its business, delivering great homes for customers and strong returns for shareholders.'

	2016		2015		Change
	£m		£m		£m		%
Units	2,870		2,725		145		+5%
Revenue	997.0		804.8		192.2		+24%
Cost of sales	(731.2)		(583.5)		(147.7)
Gross profit	265.8		221.3		44.5		+20%
Administrative expenses	(62.0)		(58.0)		(4.0)
Operating Profit	203.8		163.3		40.5		+25%
Operating profit %	20.4%		20.3%		10bps
Profit before tax	195.0		154.0		41.0		+27%
Profit after tax	156.8		124.1		32.7		+26%
Earnings per share (pence)
- Basic		62.0p	49.3p		12.7p		+26%
- Diluted		60.9p	48.4p		12.5p		+26%
Net Cash/(debt)		£77.0m	£(30.6)m
Net debt ration		n/a	4.9%

For further information, please contact:

Crest Nicholson Holdings plc	[phone]
Stephen Stone Patrick Bergin
Finsbury	[phone]
Faeth Birch James Bradley
Philip Walters

There will be a presentation to analysts today at 9.00am at 45 Moorfields, London EC2Y 9AE hosted by Stephen Stone, Chief Executive, and Patrick Bergin, Finance Director.

An audio playback facility will be available at http://www.crestnicholson.com/investor-relations or by downloading the Crest Nicholson app following the presentation.

A full calendar of financial announcements for the forthcoming period is available via the Company's Investor Relations website at http://www.crestnicholson.com/investor-relations

Preliminary Results Announcement for year ended 31 October 2016

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