Taylor Wimpey Reports Strong Performance in 2022

Taylor Wimpey, a prominent house builder, announced that its performance for the year met expectations and delivered an operating profit at the high end of its previous guidance range. However, the company's order book experienced a decline.

Operating Profit Guidance for 2023

On Thursday, Taylor Wimpey stated that it anticipates the operating profit for 2023, including joint ventures and excluding exceptional items, to meet or exceed the high end of the previously guided range. The range is GBP440 million to GBP470 million ($560.7 million to $598.9 million). In 2022, the company achieved an operating profit of GBP923.4 million.

Home Completions and Selling Price

Despite the challenges of the past year, Taylor Wimpey surpassed its own expectations by completing a total of 10,848 homes, outperforming the initially forecasted range of 10,000 to 10,500 homes. Additionally, the average selling price for homes rose to approximately GBP324,000 from GBP313,000 in 2022.

Decline in Sales Rates

While the company experienced positive outcomes in certain areas, there was a downward trend in sales rates. The net private reservation rate per outlet per week declined from 0.68 to 0.62. When excluding bulk sales of homes, the sales rate dropped from 0.65 to 0.54.

Order Book Update

Taylor Wimpey concluded the year with an order book valued at GBP1.77 billion compared to GBP1.94 billion previously. The company acknowledged the uncertainty in the short-term market and the challenging planning landscape. However, it remained optimistic due to the ongoing decrease in mortgage rates.

Future Outlook

Although it is still early in the new year, Taylor Wimpey expressed confidence in the industry's medium- and long-term prospects. Furthermore, the company reported promising levels of customer enquiries thus far.