You are viewing 1 of your 1 free articles
Vistry issues fresh profit warning to end ‘disappointing’ year
House builder Vistry has issued its third profit warning in the space of three months, but said it remains “committed” to its partnership housing strategy.
In an unscheduled update today, the FTSE 250 firm said it now expects its full-year pre-tax profit to be around £250m, down on previous guidance of £300m.
Vistry pointed to delays to “expected year-end transactions and completions”. It said that agreements with some partners, which were expected to complete in its current financial year, have taken “longer to conclude”.
The group has also decided not to proceed “with a number of proposed transactions where the commercial terms on offer were not sufficiently attractive”.
READ MORE
Greg Fitzgerald, executive chair and chief executive of Vistry, called the latest announcement and its financial outcome for 2024 “disappointing”.
The group has endured a difficult period since an initial profit warning in October revealed that build costs had been understated by £115m across nine projects.
Last month, Vistry issued another profit warning as it revealed that its bottom line would take an extra £50m hit after an independent review found more schemes with understated cost projections.
The firm, which acquired rival Countryside Partnerships in 2022, said the issues were confined to its South division and partly a result of “poor divisional culture”.
On a positive note, the group said it has continued to see “good demand” from its partners in the year’s final quarter ending on 31 December.
Last year, Vistry took steps to streamline its business to focus solely on mixed-tenure affordable housing through partnerships with registered providers, councils and private rented sector providers.
Vistry said “more than” 70 deals had been struck with 35 partners in its fourth quarter.
The firm said there had been “significant cash inflow” in the closing weeks of the year.
However it said the delays on transactions and completions mean it expects net debt to be around £200m.
Mr Fitzgerald added: “Our top priority for 2025 is to continue building and delivering high-quality mixed-tenure new homes for our partners and private customers, and to do our part in addressing the country’s acute housing shortage.
“We remain committed to our partnership housing strategy and are firmly focused on positioning the business to move forwards and rebuild profitability.”
Sign up for our development and finance newsletter
Already have an account? Click here to manage your newsletters
