Persimmon making progress

Housebuilding giant Persimmon saw the number of homes it completed fall by 4 per cent over the past year, as it attempts to ramp up the quality of its building work.

The fall means that full-year revenues came in at £3.65 billion for the 12 months to 31 December, down 2.4 per cent compared with a year earlier. The average selling price inched up £137 to £215,700.

Chief executive Dave Jenkinson said: “Delivering the maximum benefit to our customers from our quality and service improvement initiatives will continue to be my top priority for 2020. I am pleased with the progress we have made in 2019 and there is more to do.”

The firm added: “Looking ahead to the 2020 spring season, Persimmon is in a strong market position. The group has a nationwide outlet network and a range of attractive house types available at affordable prices across the UK regions, supported by high quality land holdings and a conservative balance sheet.”

Persimmon also announced that non-executive director Claire Thomas, who joined the board in August last year, had decided to leave.

John Moore, senior investment manager at Brewin Dolphin, said: “Persimmon continues to build on solid foundations. Having well-published issues last year, the business was faced with a choice between slightly lower margins and better customer care – from a long-term perspective, they appear to be making the right choice.

“Although revenues and delivery volumes are down, Persimmon’snumbersremain robust – particularly cash generation.”

Adam Vettese, an analyst at multi-asset investment platform etoro, noted: “On the surface, Persimmon’s fall in revenue looks disappointing. However, this is down to its determination to improve the much-reported quality issues with its homes as it bids to restore its damaged reputation.”