Taylor Wimpey Plc well positioned for sustained growth

Taylor Wimpey plc (LON:TW) has announced its full year results for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Jennie Daly, Chief Executive, commented:

“I’m pleased with our performance in 2024, delivering a strong sales rate and in line results while achieving the highest customer service scores and overall build quality that we have ever had at Taylor Wimpey. This is testament to the hard work and commitment of our teams across the Group. 

The start of the Spring selling season has been robust, and we have seen good levels of demand for our homes. Affordability – while remaining a challenge for many, especially first time buyers – is also moving in the right direction. As a result, our total order book is up on last year, putting us in a strong position to grow housing volumes this year. We expect to deliver full year 2025 UK completions in the range of 10,400 to 10,800 excl. JVs and for Group performance to be in line with market expectations¹.

We welcome the Government’s recent planning reforms which are capable of delivering a real step change in planning outcomes. We look forward to seeing increased resources and a focus on the implementation phase to drive these outcomes and deliver much-needed new homes across the UK.”

Operational highlights:

·    Group completions (including JVs) of 10,593 (2023: 10,848) 

·    UK net private sales rate of 0.75 homes per outlet per week (2023: 0.62). Excluding bulk deals, the net private sales rate was 0.67 (2023: 0.54)

·    UK average selling price on private completions of £356k (2023: £370k) with the overall average selling price £319k (2023: £324k)

·    Operated in the UK from an average of 216 outlets (2023: 238) and opened 55 outlets in the year (2023: 47), ending the year with a total of 213 outlets (31 December 2023: 237)

·    Strong landbank of c.79k plots (31 December 2023: c.80k plots) and a c.4k plots year on year increase in the short term owned landbank to c.66k plots

·    Year end net cash^‡ position of £565 million (31 December 2023: £678 million net cash), ahead of our guidance as a result of the timing of land purchases

·    Final ordinary dividend of 4.66 pence per share, subject to shareholder approval at the AGM, total dividend for the year of 9.46 pence per share (2023: 9.58 pence per share), consistent with our Ordinary Dividend Policy to return 7.5% of net assets per annum

¹As published on 24 February 2025, the Company compiled consensus expectation for full year 2025 Group operating profit* is £444 million.

Responsible business and a leader in sustainability:

·    Rated five-star for customer service in the Home Builders Federation (HBF) survey with Taylor Wimpey’s highest ever customer service score of 96% (2023: 92%)

·    Improved Construction Quality Review (CQR) score of 4.93 (2023: 4.89)

·    Annual Injury Incidence Rate (AIIR)^†*** per 100,000 employees and contractors of 212 (2023: 151)

·    Overall employee engagement score of 93% (2023: 93%), with a 73% response rate (2023: 69%)

·    Contributed £345 million to local communities across the UK (2023: £405 million)

·    Reduced absolute operational carbon emissions by 47% from a 2019 baseline (2023: 35%)

·    Added a net £68.9 million to the Group’s cladding fire safety provision in the year and making good progress on remediation of identified buildings

·    Recognition of ESG progress: included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index and S&P Sustainability Yearbook 2025, The Financial Times Europe’s Climate Leaders list, rated A- by CDP Climate Change and recognised in Sustainalytics 2025 ESG top rated companies, with an ESG Risk Rating of Low

·    In 2024, again achieved certification to the Carbon Trust’s Route to Net Zero Standard, Advancing level, the only housebuilder to hold this standard during the year

·    Selected four ESG metrics (across Health and Safety, Diversity and Inclusion, and timber frame completions) for independent limited assurance procedures by PwC

·    Recognised in the NHBC Pride in the Job Awards, with 62 Quality Awards (2023: 51), 16 Seal of Excellence Awards (2023: 13), two Regional Awards and the Supreme Award in the Large Builder category 

Group financial highlights:

N.B. Definitions can be found at the end of the Group financial review

Current trading and outlook

The start of the Spring selling season has been robust and we have seen good levels of demand for our homes.

Appointments and overall customer interest in our homes remain at healthy levels, supported by our quality product, site locations and focused sales and marketing efforts. There is good mortgage availability at competitive rates as lenders remain committed to the mortgage market. As a result, the encouraging sales performance seen towards the end of 2024 has continued in the year to date.

The year to date net private sales rate (w/e 23 February 2025) is 0.75 per outlet per week (2024 equivalent period: 0.67), up 12% year on year. We have seen some incremental improvement in market pricing since the start of the year with current pricing flat year on year. The cancellation rate is 16% (2024 equivalent period: 12%) and the number of down valuations remain low.

As at 23 February 2025, our total order book excluding joint ventures was £2,255 million (2024 equivalent period: £1,949 million), comprising 8,021 homes (2024 equivalent period: 7,402 homes).

We have a strong landbank, and an excellent strategic pipeline with over c.26.5k plots for first principle planning determination in the planning system as at 31 December 2024, (2023: c.30.2k plots). We were more active in the land market than expected in 2024, approving c.12k plots (2023: c.3k plots) which, as previously reported, partly reflects an increase in attractive opportunities brought forward in the run up to the Budget. We will remain active and opportunistic in our approach to land acquisition in 2025.

As previously stated, we have begun to see modest build cost inflation and we expect this to be low single digit for the year, depending on the response from our subcontractors to rising employer costs. We will continue to work with our supply chain to identify opportunities for savings across the business.  

While appetite for Section 106 affordable housing continues to be impacted by headwinds faced by Housing Associations, we have good visibility on this year’s affordable deliveries.

Overall, given the strong order book and confidence in delivery of our plans, we expect 2025 performance to be in line with market expectations¹. This reflects 2025 UK completions excluding JVs in the range of 10,400 to 10,800, with approximately 45% occurring in the first half of the year. Margin in the first half will reflect weighting of completions over the year, the impact of underlying pricing in the order book at the start of the year (which was c.0.5% lower year on year), and build cost inflation.

Looking ahead, we operate in an attractive market, with significant underlying demand for the quality homes we build. We have a clear strategy focused on driving value and operational excellence while investing in the long term success and sustainability of the business. We have a strong balance sheet, excellent landbank and experienced teams, and are well positioned to deliver sustained growth.

A presentation to analysts will be hosted by Chief Executive Jennie Daly and Group Finance Director Chris Carney, at 9am on Thursday 27 February 2025. This presentation will be webcast live on Taylor Wimpey’s website: www.taylorwimpey.co.uk/corporate

An on-demand version of the webcast will be available on our website in the afternoon of 27 February 2025.