Taylor Wimpey’s profit before tax slumped by 42.7% to £237.7m for the half-year period ending 2 July 2023. The house builder reported an operating profit of £235.6m in H1 2023 compared with £424.6m in the same period last year – a 44.5% drop.
The company’s revenue fell from £2,076.8m (H1 2022) to £1,637.1m (H1 2023) – a 21.1% decline. In the reporting period, Taylor Wimpey completed 5,120 homes compared with 6,922 in the same period last year. Its operating profit margin stood at 14.2% (H1 2022: 20.4%).
The company blamed the decline on the lower level of completions and the impact of build cost inflation, which had not been fully offset by house price inflation for the period.
Jennie Daly, chief executive of Taylor Wimpey, said: “The first half of the year has been characterised by variable market conditions including substantially higher mortgage rates. While this has inevitably impacted our results, I am pleased that we have delivered a resilient performance with first half completions slightly ahead of our expectations. This performance is testament to the hard work of our teams on the ground and our strong focus on operational excellence and tight cost management.
“As we move into the second half of the year, our focus remains on optimising all areas of our operations as we continue to support our customers during this uncertain period. With a healthy order book and strong underlying interest for our well-located, high-quality homes, we expect full year UK completions excluding joint ventures to be in the range of 10,000 to 10,500, the upper end of our previous guidance.
“Taylor Wimpey is a strong, sustainable and agile business underpinned by a robust balance sheet and an excellent land bank. We remain well positioned to manage the business through near term challenges while maximising value in the medium to long term.”
