Vistry issues ‘disappointing’ financial performance update

Profit before tax at Vistry has fallen by 35% to £263.5m in the year to 31 December 2024, in what the housebuilder has described as a "disappointing financial performance".

The firm said that in a "challenging year", its operating profit dropped by 25% to £358.2m, while its operating profit margin fell by 3.5 percentage points to 8.3%.

Furthermore, its earnings per share fell by 35% to 55.9 pence.

However, in this time, its revenue and total house completions increased by 7% to £4.33bn and 17,225 houses respectively.

Chief executive at Vistry, Greg Fitzgerald, said: "2024 was a challenging year for the group resulting in a disappointing financial performance, despite strong growth in completions and revenue. We have concluded a rigorous set of reviews and year end procedures with no further issues being identified, and much work has been done to ensure the group has the right people, structure, systems and controls in place to move forward with confidence.

"Our focus is now firmly on the future and executing our differentiated partnerships strategy. We are pleased to see the Government bring forward a further £2bn of much-needed funding for affordable homes, and will be seeking to progress as quickly as possible with our partners to deliver quality new homes across the country."

The results come after the housebuilder reduced its profit guidance multiple times over the course of 2024.

In its outlook for 2025, the firm stated that its forward order book currently totals £4.4bn, with 65% of forecasted 2025 units secured.

The group sales rate currently sits at 0.59 sales per site per week, compared to 0.81 in the same period in 2024, which it said is a result of low volume of partner funded transactions in the first quarter.

Vistry added that it continues to expect to make "year-on-year progress in profit" in 2025, with profits being more weighted to the second half of the year, compared to previous years.

Investment analyst at AJ Bell, Dan Coatsworth, stated: "Having issued three profit warnings in quick succession, the market already knew that Vistry’s results were going to be miserable. The headline figures speak for themselves; profit is down by a quarter, net debt has doubled and there is no dividend. Saying share buybacks were in lieu of the dividend makes it sound as if investors were still treated to a handsome reward, although companies are free to decide how to return cash to shareholders.

"Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald implies there are no more skeletons in the closet for the business and Vistry is now on the front foot with getting back on top. However, the outlook statement implies it will be a rocky road to recovery. It’s no wonder the shares have sunk even further.

"The rate of sales per site per week is down substantially year-on-year so far in 2025. Build costs are going up and margin recovery is a story for the second half of the year. The company can be as upbeat as it wants – investors want action, not words, and there isn’t enough evidence that Vistry is being nursed back to good health."



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