TIDM51GC
RNS Number : 7115C
Clarion Funding plc
23 January 2018
Update covering the period to 31 December 2017
The Group continued to deliver strong financial and operational
performance during the quarter. We remain on track to report a
robust position at the end of the financial year.
Financial performance
The management accounts for the year to date showed a healthy
net surplus of GBP138.3 million. This is slightly down from 2016/17
(GBP141.1 million) due mainly to the disposal of the Group's German
market rent portfolio in Q3 2016/17 which generated GBP8.1 million
profit in the previous year. At GBP243.3 million underlying
operating surplus was slightly up against the prior year (GBP233.8
million).
Capital investment in new housing stock brought Housing Fixed
Assets to GBP6.70 billion, up from GBP6.50 billion at 31 March
2017. Drawn debt as at 31 December 2017 was GBP3.50 billion, up
from GBP3.28 billion as at 31 March 2017. Liquidity stood at
GBP0.71 billion (down from GBP0.98 billion) and committed and fully
secured loan facilities were GBP4.03 billion (down from GBP4.10
billion).
Our internal matrix of financial "golden rules" were all
met.
Operational performance
Overall customer satisfaction was marginally under target at
79.7%. We are focussed on pushing satisfaction levels back up above
our internal target of 80% although the contracting environment
remains challenging.
The majority of repairs KPIs remained above target with customer
satisfaction with most recent repair at 87.4%. Call answering
performance also continued to deliver consistently above our 80%
target at 84.4%. Repair appointments kept increased from Q2 to 92%
and was only slightly under the internal target of 92.5%; we
continue to work with our contractors to drive improvement.
Occupancy remained on target at 98.5%.
Outright sales and shared ownership continued to perform well
generating year to date income of GBP71.4 million (Q3 2016/17:
GBP49.2 million). Sales margins excluding joint ventures were at
34% (Q3 2016/17: 39%). At the end of December 2017, 294 units were
held in stock, which was in line with expectations. The Group
continues to monitor leading indicators in the wider market
closely, to ensure that we have the appropriate sales strategy on a
site by site basis.
The Group has achieved 924 housing completions for the year to
date and 1,154 homes were started. Total capital investment in new
homes was GBP322 million (Q3 2016/17: GBP203million). Our current
development pipeline now stands at c.12,000. Build quality remained
very good - customer satisfaction with new build products and
services was excellent at 96.6% whilst average defects per property
was low at 0.3.
During the quarter we announced the purchase of the CoCoa Works
site in Leeds for the development of 258 new homes for sale. The
Group also purchased a strategic site in Merton to kick start our
plans to invest GBP1 billion reinvigorating three existing
neighbourhoods in the borough.
Consolidation of landlord entities
Work continued over the quarter towards the Group's ambition of
a single landlord. This resulted in the Financial Conduct Authority
registering Clarion Housing Association Limited on 2(nd) January
2018, reducing the number of landlord entities in the Group to
two.
Clarion Futures
In October Clarion Housing Group launched Clarion Futures, a
charitable foundation which will be responsible for investing
GBP150 million over the next decade. Over the course of ten years,
Clarion Futures' ambition is to contribute GBP1 billion in social
value to individuals and communities across the country.
Government announcements
Clarion strongly supports effective regulation and welcomed the
announcement that housing associations are now reclassified as
private bodies. We also welcomed the announcement made at the
Conservative party conference that an additional GBP2 billion
affordable housing funding, as well as the assurances on rent
settlements that the Prime Minister has promised.
While the Chancellor's Budget announced in November did indeed
indicate the Government's determination to address the undersupply
of housing and unlock home ownership - both of which Clarion is
also committed to - we were disappointed that the importance of
providing more social rented housing once again appears to have
been overlooked. Read our full response on the Chancellor's Budget
here.
ENDS
For more information, please contact:
Gareth Francis, director of treasury and corporate finance,
Clarion Housing Group - 07787 555655 /
gareth.francis@clarionhg.com
Lucy Pond, communications manager, Clarion Housing Group - 0771
8269023 / lucy.pond@clarionhg.com
Disclaimer
The information contained herein (the "Trading Update") has been
prepared by Clarion Housing Group Limited (the "Parent") and its
subsidiaries (the "Group"), including Affinity Sutton Capital
Markets plc, Circle Anglia Social Housing Plc, Circle Anglia Social
Housing 2 Plc and Clarion Funding Plc (the "Issuers") 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 Issuers 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.
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 pro t 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.
www.clarionhg.com
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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