Five landlords post mixed half-year financial results amid economic uncertainty

The first half of 2022 saw Home Group deliver a surplus before tax of £13m, which is £5.6m lower than the equivalent period in the previous year. 

The 55,000-home landlord said this was partly due to increased investment in its planned maintenance programme and building safety works. It was also a result of the adverse impact from increasing inflation and interest rates.

Overall turnover increased nearly 10% to £231.6m and its operating margin on social housing lettings fell from 22.3% to 19.6% due to higher operating costs that included maintenance and building safety. 

Home Group completed 591 homes for the six-month period up to 30 September 2022, with 296 of those at affordable and social tenures. 

The landlord said its regrading to G1/V2 by the Regulator of Social Housing in November reflected the current economic uncertainty and the financial pressures this places upon the sector.

Orbit said its half-year performance was largely in-line with expectations. Its group turnover increased to £206.7m, up from £189.3m.

Operating profit was up around £12m to £71.6m, and its surplus for the period up to 30 September 2022 increased a similar amount to £46.2m.

There were 647 new homes completed in the first six months of the 2022 financial year, of which 461 were affordable.

The 48,000-home landlord, whose merger talks with Swan collapsed last year, also cited a challenging backdrop of high inflation, rising interest rates, materials and labour shortages and increasing likelihood of a recession.

For Karbon Homes, turnover reached £81m, up from £76.6m at the end of September 2021.

The 30,000-home landlord reported an operating surplus that fell from £24.9m to £22.7m in the first six months of 2022 and an overall operating margin, including asset sales, of 26.9%.

Its surplus before tax for the period was £13.7m, down from £15.4m.

In terms of its development, the association said it was “pleased” to have delivered 296 affordable new homes across the North, despite “the challenges faced surrounding materials and labour shortages” in its supply chain.

In addition, Clarion, Orbit and Karbon Homes all reported improvements with how they deal with damp and mould following the recent spotlight on these concerns from across the sector.

The increased attention came after the recent tragic death of Awaab Ishak. 

An inquest found that the death of the two-year-old was caused by respiratory problems due to prolonged exposure to mould in the Rochdale Boroughwide Housing-owned social home in which he and his family lived.

The coroner said the toddler’s should be a “defining moment” for the housing sector.

Clarion said it has created a dedicated team to tackle condensation, damp and mould, as well as invested in new equipment to support its early detection, while taking advantage of new tracking and reporting technology.

Orbit pointed out that it had made significant improvements in how it responds to reports of damp, mould or condensation through the introduction of new policy and systems, colleague training and new equipment over the past 18 months. 

Karbon Homes said the recent spotlight on these cases “is a focus for us”. The landlord also explained it has a number of robust systems and processes in place to ensure it can proactively identify any damp and mould problems, as well as promptly respond to any issues customers raise.