Business

Glenveagh on track to meet targets despite dip in earnings

Home builder says it has completed 800 units of its 2,700 full-year target for 2024

Glenveagh chief executive Stephen Garvey insisted the company continued to make excellent progress across the business and was 'firmly on track' to meet its objectives for the year. Photograph: Barry Cronin

Eoin Burke-Kennedy
Thu Jul 4 2024 - 07:51

Glenveagh Properties said it remains on track to meet its building targets this year despite reporting a fall-off in earnings.

In a trading update, the home builder said it had completed 800 units of its 2,700 full-year target for 2024 and that it still expected full-year earnings per share to more than double to 17 cent, up from 8 cent in 2023.

Revenue for the six months to the end of June, however, dropped to €150 million, down from €172 million for the same period last year.

The company blamed the reverse on the completion of 510 units in its urban segment “from existing forward fund transactions, where approximately 90 per cent of revenue has already been recognised in prior periods”.

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It also noted that suburban completions were impacted by the scheduling of sales closings, which are now occurring early in the third quarter.

Chief executive Stephen Garvey insisted the company continued to make excellent progress across the business and was “firmly on track” to meet its objectives for the year.

“The targeted industry initiatives implemented by the Government via Housing for All has provided much momentum to new home output across the market delivering approximately 35,000 units per annum and strong commencement growth in 2024,” he said.

In its update, Glenveagh said it had a closed a forward order book of almost €1.2 billion across its three business segments, representing a 22 per cent increase on the €963 million reported at the company’s annual general meeting in May.

The listed company also highlighted “strong planning momentum” with permissions granted for about 1,300 units in the first half of 2024, while more than 95 per cent of units targeted for 2025 now had “planning permissions granted”.

The company said its partnership sites, including those with the Government’s Land Development Agency, comprising more than 2,000 units, were now operating at scale, with revenue and profit expected to accelerate in the second half of 2024 due to strong construction progress.

It also said there were possible additional LDA partnership opportunities over time.

Glenveagh said it continued to invest in accordance with its capital allocation priorities, “notably in land where we are now seen as the partner of choice for landowners in attractive suburban and partnership led locations”.

“A number of significant land transactions are now being explored in this regard,” it said.

“These acquisition opportunities, should they materialise, are in highly attractive locations that are fully aligned with the ambitions of national and regional planning policy,” it said.

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy

Eoin Burke-Kennedy is Economics Correspondent of The Irish Times

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