Taylor Wimpey – tough year, but on solid foundations heading into 2024
Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown: “Taylor Wimpey’s put in a relatively resilient showing given the difficult market conditions of 2023. Full-year operating profits came in at the top end of group guidance, but this still represents a roughly 50% fall from the prior year’s levels. A combination of real house price declines and lower mortgage rates have helped to ease some of the affordability pressures for buyers since the beginning of 2023, and these trends appear to have carried into the new year. According to Rightmove, the first six weeks of 2024 saw a 7% increase in buyer enquiries year-on-year. A low activity base could set the scene for a better performance in 2024, with Taylor Wimpey’s trading early in the new year also seeming to support this view. The company’s seeing an uplift in sales rates on the back of improving affordability and increasing consumer confidence.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently concluded its year-long study into UK housebuilding, placing the vast majority of the blame for Britain’s new housing under-delivery at the foot of the current planning system, rather than housebuilders themselves. Any reforms to the current system would likely be a tailwind that benefits the whole sector.”
