Housebuilder Crest Nicholson PLC (LSE:CRST) reported underlying profits at the top end of expectations and pointed to "signs of resilience".
Adjusted profit before tax was £137.8mln for the year to 31 October 2022, up 29% on the prior year and in line with guidance of £135-140mln.
As there was a £2.3mln impairment for exiting a site that was forecast to be unprofitable, the underlying profit was at the top end of the range.
Growth was driven by revenue rising 16.1% at £913.6mln, with unit completions up 14% and profit margin up from 14.6% to 15.4%.
A cladding provision of £105mln was made, which was expected, and net cash ended the year at £277mln.
The proposed final dividend of 11.5p per share made a total dividend for the year of 17p.
On the outlook, the FTSE 250-listed company noted the "challenging" macroeconomic backdrop for the UK in the near term, including sector-specific issues such as rising interest rates and declining mortgage availability.
The immediate focus will be to deliver the "strong forward order book and maintain a strong financial position", with forward sales as at 13 January of 2,018 units with gross development value of £510.8mln, compared to £719.0mln a year ago.
"As we start 2023, there are signs of the resilience that has characterised the housing market through recent years," the company added, pointing to reductions in the cost of borrowing, availability for buyers with higher levels of equity, "strong" demand for new homes proved by its sales indicators and web traffic, and expectations that inflation has peaked.
The shares were up 0.4% to 266.6p on Tuesday morning, up 55% since hitting lows in October after the Truss-Kwarteng 'mini budget'.