Watkin Jones has cancelled its dividend after plummeting to a £42.5m loss.
The BTR and PBSA developer’s full-year results for 2023 show a 331% fall in statutory pretax profit, after pulling in £18.4m for 2022. This has resulted in a loss per share of 12.7p. Revenue nudged up by 1.5% to £413.2m.
Losses were heightened by book losses on the sale of assets, as well as rising costs and exceptional charges. The developer was obliged to hand over £35m for building safety remedial works, while a further £3.1m of cost was incurred due to restructuring.
In all, gross profit declined to £34.9m from 2022’s £67.6m, while adjusted operating profit before exceptional items was £200,000, down from £54.7m the previous year. The company said this reflected the reduction in forward sales, lower margins, the impairment of the non-core landbank and some pipeline assets and the book loss on disposal of non-core private rented sector assets.
Chief executive Alex Pease said: “Significant cost inflation and volatility in real estate funding markets meant that FY23 represented a period of unprecedented challenge for the business. However, I am pleased that against this backdrop the group demonstrated resilience and agility, taking a number of important actions operationally.”
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