In a trading update for the year to the end of December 2022, Cairn Homes says that it expects its turnover to come in above €600m, with 1,500 closed new homes sales from active sites which have full planning permission.

The homebuilder stated that after a disruptive first half of 2021 with site closures due to Covid-19 restrictions, the second half of the year was its strongest ever performance in terms of new homes sold, margin progression, profitability and cash generation.

Shares in Cairn Homes ended over 7% higher after its guidance update for 2022. It now expects operating profits of €95-€100m for the year. This is up from its previous guidance of €85m.

In 2021, Cairn closed 1,120 new home sales, up from 743 in 2020, and generated total core revenue of about €419m compared to €246.9m in 2020.

Cairn Home also said that it was experiencing build cost inflation of about €15,000 per new home.

Cairn also stated that the affordability of its starter homes remains a key objective and its 2021 average selling price was €350,000, compared to €348,000 in 2020, in prime, sought-after suburban locations.

Cairn Homes CEO Michael Stanley said the company delivered on all of its business objectives for 2021 despite the impact of public health restrictions early in the year which closed construction sites across Ireland.

“We achieved a key milestone in the second half of the year when we sold our 5,000th new home since we commenced business in 2015,” Stanley commented.

He added that in 2022 Cairn will support over 3,000 full-time positions on 22 active sites, building high quality, sustainable new homes on well-located developments with full planning permission.

“The trajectory of the business has enabled us to upgrade our guidance for 2022. We now plan to close 1,500 sales, boosting revenues to over €600m, while also significantly increasing operating cashflow from prior guidance.”