Taylor Wimpey has stated that the company is on track to meet its expected operating profit for 2025, despite the likely decline in margins on a year-on-year basis.
In today’s trading update, the developer highlighted that it expects the group’s operating profit for the entire 2025 calendar year to be around £444 million, as previously stated.
Taylor Wimpey reported that the spring selling season “has gone in line with expectations.” The private sales net figure for the year to April 27 increased from 0.74 to 0.77 units per sales outlet per week.
The company stated that its sales rates remain in line with forecast — between 10,400 and 10,800 completed homes, of which about 45% will be completed in the first half of the year.
However, the group stated that it expects its operating margin for the half year to be lower than the baseline operating margin for the same period last year, which was 11%, excluding the high-margin land sales.
According to the company, this is due to the impact of underlying prices in the order book at the start of the year, which were 0.5% lower compared to the same period last year, affecting completions during this period.
Jenny Daly, CEO of Taylor Wimpey, noted: "Despite the broader macroeconomic context, housing affordability is improving as lenders remain committed to the housing market, although first-time buyers continue to face certain challenges."
Daly also mentioned that government planning reforms are positive but warned that they "require an increase in resources and a focus on the implementation stage to deliver results and ensure the delivery of much-needed new homes across the country."
As of April 27, Taylor Wimpey’s total order book value stood at £2.3 billion, compared to £2.1 billion a year ago, including 8,153 homes.
The company will publish its interim results on July 30.