Cairn Homes plc 2017 Full Year Trading Statement (0345B)

TIDMCRN

RNS Number : 0345B

Cairn Homes plc

05 January 2018

5 January 2018

Cairn Homes plc

Trading Statement

Dublin/London, 5 January 2018: Cairn Homes plc ("Cairn", or the "Company") (ISE:CRN, LSE:CRN), the Irish homebuilding company, today issues a trading update for the year ended 31 December 2017 in advance of its Full Year Results which will be announced on 6 March 2018.

Revenues for 2017 increased significantly to c. EUR149m (2016: EUR40.9m), including c. EUR131m in residential revenue from 418 unit sales (2016: 105 units). The Company's average selling price in the period was EUR314,000 excluding VAT (2016: EUR295,000) and the estimated full year EBITDA is c. EUR14.5m to EUR15m (2016: EUR3.8m).

During the year, Cairn delivered completed sales across seven separate developments in the Greater Dublin Area. These are Parkside, Malahide Road; the Company's joint venture with NAMA adjoining Parkside; Churchfields, Ashbourne; Shackleton Park, Lucan; Glenheron, Greystones; Albany, Killiney; and the award-winning apartment development at Marianella, Rathgar. Included in the Company's unit sales in 2017 were 24 units sold on non-core sites.

The Company is building on three further sites. Sales completions at Elsmore, Naas are expected from mid-2018, while the Dublin City Centre apartment development at Hanover Quay has a planned sales launch in Summer 2018. The Company has also recently commenced work on a new apartment development at Greenfield Park, Donnybrook.

Cairn continues to evolve its product mix, and further apartment commencements in prime Dublin City locations can be expected during 2018. Added to this, the Company now also has a student apartment pipeline of 1,700 beds at five locations close to Ireland's major universities.

Market conditions remain positive with continued strong demand for new starter homes, trade-up/mover new homes and premium apartments witnessed in the Autumn 2017 selling season. The Company believes that the supply of new residential homes in the Irish market will continue to significantly undershoot demand in 2018 and 2019. This, allied with strong demographics, strengthening mortgage market fundamentals and a growing economy are all supportive of Cairn's business model.

The Company starts 2018 with a strong forward sales pipeline with a net sales value of EUR134.3m (348 units at an average selling price of EUR386,000 excluding VAT) which underpins H1 2018 sales. The increase in average selling price reflects the higher number of apartments in the forward sales pipeline. Further sales launches are planned in early 2018, with first show homes opening in Q1 in Glenheron and Shackleton Park.

Michael Stanley, Chief Executive Officer of Cairn commented: "Achieving 418 home sales is a very strong outcome in our second full trading year. We completed sales on seven separate developments during the year. Our practice of acquiring and building on larger scale developments, on average in excess of 400 units, allowed us to respond quickly to increased demand during 2017. Given the quality and historical cost of our land bank, our dual focus on competitively priced houses and premium apartments and our increasing operational capability, we continue to look forward with confidence."

-ENDS-

For more information, please contact:

Cairn Homes plc [phone]

Michael Stanley

Tim Kenny

Powerscourt [phone]

Justin Griffiths

Nick Dibden

Jack Hickey

Drury Porter Novelli [phone]

Morwenna Rice

Louise Walsh

Notes to Editors

Cairn Homes plc is an Irish homebuilder committed to building high-quality sustainable homes in excellent locations and providing unparalleled customer service at each stage of the home-buying journey. Cairn's highly experienced management team has a clear vision of delivering innovative and thoughtfully designed homes which meet market demand and enhance communities by placing home owners at the very centre of the design process. The Company owns 33 residential development sites with capacity for over 12,700 new homes, over 90% of which are located in the Greater Dublin Area (GDA) with excellent public transport and infrastructure links. Cairn is today building on ten sites in the GDA, which will deliver over 3,350 units.

This information is provided by RNS

The company news service from the London Stock Exchange

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January 05, 2018 02:00 ET (07:00 GMT)