McCarthy & Stone 2017 final results
Legal completions in line with prior year at 2,302 units (FY16: 2,296), despite a significantly lower number of first occupations during the year (FY17: 49, FY16: 69)
Revenue increased by 4% to a new record of £661m (FY16: £636m)
52 new sales outlets opened during the period (FY16: 64)
Average selling price increased by 3% to £273k (FY16: £264k)
Strong recovery in underlying operating margin in H2 to 17% (FY16: 17%) from H1 underlying operating margin of 10% (+700 bp) (FY16: 16%)
Profit before tax decreased by 1% to £92m (FY16: £93m)
Underlying profit before tax at £94m (FY16: £105m), mainly impacted by age and mix of units sold and increased incentives and build costs
Underlying basic earnings per share decreased by 12% to 14.2p (FY16: 16.1p)
Basic earnings per share decreased by 1% to 13.8p (FY16: 13.9p)
Strong financial position, with £31m of net cash (FY16: £53m) at the year end notwithstanding significant ongoing investment in land and work in progress
The Directors are proposing a final dividend of 3.6 pence per share, giving a total dividend for the year of 5.4 pence per share (FY16: 4.5 pence per share pro-rated for period since listing).
