Taylor Wimpey has seen its operating profit remain in line with expectations at £416m in 2024, as its volume outlook remains "flat year-on-year".

The housebuilder saw group completions drop slightly annually to 10,593, while its UK net private sales rate increased from 0.62 homes per outlet per week to 0.75.

Its net cash position at the year end stood at £565m, which despite falling from £678m in 2023, was ahead of guidance as a result of the timing of land purchases.

At the end of 2024, the firm’s total dividend for the year stood at 9.5 pence per share, a slight drop from 9.6 pence in 2023. However, the firm said that this was "consistent" with its ordinary dividend policy to return 7.5% of net assets per annum.

Chief executive at Taylor Wimpey, Jennie Daly, said: "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.

"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 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."

Looking ahead, the firm said that has seen "modest cost inflation" and therefore expects "low single digit" growth in 2025.

Furthermore, it expects its 2025 performance to be "in line with market expectations", reflecting a completions estimate of between 10,400 and 10,800 homes.

Property analyst at Quilter Cheviot, Oli Creasey, concluded: "In some ways, Taylor Wimpey is having to run to stay still – the number of outlets open at the end of 2024 is 10% lower than a year ago, hampering any volume growth. While the company’s experience of 2025 so far shows a 12% increase in sales per outlet compared to the same period in 2024, the net effect is for overall volumes to be approximately unchanged. Similarly, current trading shows house prices as flat year-on-year, suggesting that margin improvement may be hard to come by.

"This may disappoint investors hoping to mark 2024 as the low point in the current housebuilder cycle. While there are positive signs, particularly the growing order book, which is 16% larger than a year ago, the lack of top-line growth is frustrating, even though it is partly due to operational cyclicality. Taylor Wimpey plans to open more outlets in 2025 than it did in 2024, but with no guidance on how many will be closed, the net impact is unclear."

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