UK housebuilder Taylor Wimpey cuts losses

Published 03rd Mar 2010

Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has reported a halving of annual losses and said its UK and North American businesses made profits in the second half of 2009.

The firm reported a pre-tax loss of £700m for 2009 as a whole, down from a loss of £1.97bn the year before.

Its latest loss included a £527m write-down of the value of building projects and land in the UK, US and Spain.

But it said it had seen "significant stabilisation" in the UK and North American housing markets during 2009.

In the UK, it sold 10,186 properties in 2009, down from 13,394 the year before, with the average selling price down to £160,000 from £171,000 in 2008.

However, the company said trading in the UK had been "encouraging" during the first two months of 2010.

"We do think that the housing market in the UK has strengthened significantly in the last year," chief executive Pete Redfern told the BBC.

"Sales rates are better, pricing is better, and that is across most of the regions and customer groups that we sell to."

In North America, Taylor Wimpey said that the "stability" seen in the US housing market during 2009 had continued into early 2010.

"In addition, the US government's first time buyer tax credit is likely to continue to support the market during the key spring selling season," it said.

Taylor Wimpey, which was formed by the merger of Taylor Woodrow and George Wimpey in 2007, was struggling with huge debts a year ago.

However, the company agreed a financial restructuring and a rights issue, which have cut the firm's debts from about £1.5bn at the end of 2008 to about £750m.

Source: ' BBC '

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