Vistry’s average weekly sales rates have improved by 32% to 1.20 so far this year, driven by the increased use of discounts and buyer incentives.
The Middle East conflict has caused some upward pressure on material and labour costs, which is expected to continue into the second half.
The order book was £0.1bn lower at £4.5bn. First-half average daily net debt is expected to be higher that the prior year. However, the group expects to finish the year with a net cash position of around £100mn.
The current share buyback programme has been paused to prioritise debt reduction.
Due to the higher levels of discounts and buyer incentives, first-half profits are now expected to be “significantly lower” than the prior year. As a result, full-year underlying pre-tax profits are now expected to be around £223mn (£247mn expected).
The shares fell 10.7% in early trading.
Our view
HL view to follow.
Vistry key facts
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This article is original Hargreaves Lansdown content, published by Hargreaves Lansdown. It was correct as at the date of publication, and our views may have changed since then. Unless otherwise stated estimates, including prospective yields, are a consensus of analyst forecasts provided by LSEG. These estimates are not a reliable indicator of future performance. Yields are variable and not guaranteed. Investments rise and fall in value so investors could make a loss.
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