Taylor Wimpey (LON: TW.) shares rose in early Wednesday trading before edging lower after the company posted a trading statement, telling investors that it expects to deliver full-year operating profit in line with market expectations, despite the challenging macroeconomic conditions.
“While sales rates have been impacted by wider economic uncertainty, we continue to see good levels of customer interest in our homes and a desire to get onto or move up the housing ladder,” commented Taylor Wimpey Chief Executive Jennie Daly.
The housing construction firm said it achieved a net private sales rate of 0.74 homes per outlet per week for the year to date. However, it declined to 0.51 homes per outlet per week in the second half of the year to date, reflecting the heightened levels of economic uncertainty.
The cancellation rate for the year's second half to date was 24%, compared to 14% in the same period in 2021. The year-to-date cancellation rate of 18% compared to 14% in 2021.
Taylor Wimpey's current total order book, excluding joint ventures, stands at approximately £2.6 billion, compared to £2.8 billion in 2021, representing 9,153 homes as of November 6, down from 2022 10,643 in 2021.
The company stated that visits to its website continue to be at good levels, although conversions are taking longer.
“Taylor Wimpey is an agile business and we have been focused on operational efficiency and execution. We operate from a position of financial strength and as we continue to navigate the current macro-economic challenges, our quality landbank in customers' preferred locations positions us well. We will continue to manage the business with discipline as we seek to deliver value for all our stakeholders,” added Daly.
Taylor Wimpey shares are down 0.5% at the time of writing.