National housebuilder Persimmon has reported a healthy set of annual financial results, registering a pre-tax profit of £359m for the year ended 31 December 2024.
The company’s statutory pre-tax profit was marginally up on last year (2023: £351m), with the underlying results looking even better (2024: £395m), before a net exceptional charge of £34.4m (2023: no net exceptional charge).
The Group generated total revenue of £3.20bn (2023: £2.77bn), with new housing revenue 13% higher than 2023 at £2.86bn (2023: £2.54bn).
“Persimmon’s disciplined investment and significant operational improvements in recent years has created a stronger business,” said Dean Finch, Persimmon Group Chief Executive.
“This is demonstrated by our growth in 2024, with completions, outlets and profit all up. The underlying market fundamentals remain strong and we are encouraged by the further improvement in our sales rates in the early weeks of this year. The Government’s welcome planning reforms and pro-housebuilding agenda demands more of the high-quality, affordable homes which are Persimmon’s core strength, providing a positive tailwind.”
Persimmon delivered 10,664 new homes in the year (2023: 9,922). Since the 2024 spring selling season, customer enquiries and sales rates have been consistently ahead of the prior year, the company reported, with private average selling prices on reservations increasing as the year progressed.
The blended average selling price was up 5% at £268,499 (2023: £255,752).
Persimmon ended 2024 with 270 outlets, a 5% increase from the previous year (2023: 258 outlets) against a backdrop of industry decline.
“We have a strong pipeline of new outlets to open in 2025 and remain on track to achieve our target of at least 300 outlets,” Persimmon said.
Persimmon’s three brands across the business comprise Persimmon Homes, Charles Church and Westbury Partnerships.
It anticipates growing its affordable homes delivery in 2025 with nearly all units secured for the year, demonstrating the benefit of its proactive engagement with housing associations and local authorities.
In the year, Persimmon successfully brought 13,404 plots into its owned and under control land holdings.
The Group’s net exceptional charge of £34.4m (2023: £nil) includes a net exceptional charge within gross profit of £2m (2023: £nil) in relation to the anticipated costs of the Group’s commitments to the costs of removal of combustible claddings and other fire related remediation works. The Group also recognised an exceptional charge of £25m in relation to the impairment of its investment and long-term loan notes in TopHat Enterprises Limited.
Modular builder Top Hat ceased all commercial activity in November 2024 and commenced a wind-down of the business due to high costs, a sluggish housing market and high interest rates. Top Hat recorded a loss of £28m in its financial year ended October 31.
