Livewest Capital PLC LiveWest Trading Update (1044G)

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RNS Number : 1044G

Livewest Capital PLC

01 November 2018

LiveWest Trading Update for the period ended 30 September 2018

LiveWest issues its unaudited group trading update for the period ending 30 September 2018. All comparatives are to LiveWest's audited group Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2018.

Financial and Operating Performance

Operating surplus for the 6 months to September 2018 is GBP40m, against GBP69m for the year to March 2018. Housing Properties (net of depreciation) have increased to GBP1,885m from GBP1,856m. Net debt has increased to GBP729m from GBP713m.

 
 Statement of Comprehensive Income 
                                        6 Months 
                                              to    Year to 
                                        Sep 2018   Mar 2018 
                                            GBPm       GBPm 
 Turnover                                    118        231 
 Operating Costs                            (84)      (169) 
 Surplus on Disposal of Properties             6          7 
 Operating Surplus                            40         69 
                                       --------- 
 Net Interest Payable                       (12)       (27) 
 Movement in Fair Value of Financial 
  Instruments                                             2 
 Surplus for the Period                       28         44 
                                       --------- 
 
 Financial Indicators 
                                        Sep 2018   Mar 2018 
 Operating Margin on Social Housing 
  Lettings                                   34%        35% 
 Net Margin on Shared Ownership 
  Sales                                      23%        20% 
 Net Margin on Open Market Sales             19%        21% 
-------------------------------------  ---------  --------- 
 

Customer satisfaction rose from 88.7% to 90.4% in the period. Void losses for our general needs and sheltered stock were 0.48% (March 2018: 0.51%). Rent arrears were 1.85% (March 2018: 1.90%).

Liquidity

LiveWest has liquidity of GBP193m, consisting of available undrawn facilities of GBP184m, and available cash of GBP9m.

Development

We completed 353 affordable units in the period (812 for the 12 months to March 2018). We have a contracted pipeline of 1,533 homes (March 2018: 1,518).

Sales of open market and shared ownership homes totalled 212 units for the period (422 for the 12 months to March 2018). We had 86 shared ownership stock units (March 2018: 111) and 13 open market stock units (March 2018: 28).

Board and Executive Team Changes

There were no changes to the Board and Executive Team in the period.

LiveWest Credit Rating

LiveWest has a Moody's A2 (stable) credit rating. On 20 September 2018, the A2 (stable) rating was assigned to LiveWest Capital plc's GBP100,000,000 5.058 per cent. (Step up) Secured Bonds due 2048.

END

For more information, please contact:

   Andrew Hart, Director of Corporate Finance                        01392 814444 

https://www.livewest.co.uk/about-us/investor-relations/

Disclaimer

The information contained herein (the "Trading Update") has been prepared by LiveWest Limited (the "Parent") and its subsidiaries (the "Group"), including LiveWest Capital plc (the "Issuer") and is for information purposes only.

The Trading Update should not be construed as an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities issued by the Parent, the Issuer or any other member of the Group, or any interest in any such securities, and nothing herein should be construed as a recommendation or advice to invest in any such securities.

Statements in the Trading Update, including those regarding possible or assumed future or other performance of the Group as a whole or any member of it, industry growth or other trend projections may constitute forward-looking statements and as such involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, no assurance is given that such forward-looking statements will prove to have been correct. They speak only as at the date of the Trading Update and neither the Parent nor any other member of the Group undertakes any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future developments, occurrence of unanticipated events or otherwise. The information contained in the Trading Update is unaudited.

None of the Parent, any member of the Group or anyone else is under any obligation to update or keep current the information contained in the Trading Update. The information in the Trading Update is subject to verification, does not purport to be comprehensive, is provided as at the date of the Trading Update and is subject to change without notice.

No reliance should be placed on the information or any projections, targets, estimates or forecasts and nothing in the Trading Update is or should be relied on as a promise or representation as to the future. No statement in the Trading Update is intended to be a profit estimate or forecast. No representation or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the Parent, any other member of the Group or any of their respective directors, officers, employees, advisers, agents or any other persons as to the accuracy or validity of the information or opinions contained in the Trading Update (and whether any information has been omitted from the Trading Update). The Trading Update does not constitute legal, tax, accounting or investment advice.

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact [e-mail] or visit www.rns.com.

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November 01, 2018 12:53 ET (16:53 GMT)