Persimmon PLC (LSE:PSN) reported a 13% in increase in profit for last year and an accelerated sales rate at the start of the new year despite uncertainty over the impact of the Iran conflict on customer sentiment.
The dividend was held at 60p per share and there was no share buyback.
Underlying profit before tax rose to £445.6 million in 2025 from £395.1 million the previous year, as sale completions grew 12% and the average selling price was up 4% to drive a 16% rise in new housing revenue to £3.3 billion.
The FTSE 100 housebuilder said its underlying operating margin edged up to 14.3% from 14.1%.
Chief executive Dean Finch said the 2025 performance reflected "sustained investment in the business and our commitment to self-help, enabling us to grow in a challenging market".
He added: "Sales in the opening weeks of the year have been strong and the build-to-rent market is recovering from the slowdown around November's Budget."
Net private sales rate per outlet per week are up 9% year on year at 0.73 in the first nine weeks of 2026, compared to 0.59 and 0.57 in the past two years, and the private forward sales position was up 9% to £1.25 billion as at 1 March.
The board guided for between 12,000 and 12,500 completions in 2026, compared to 11,905 last year, with underlying operating profit towards the upper end of current City analyst consensus, which is currently looking for between £486 million to £517 million.
However, the group flagged that higher finance costs from ongoing investment would leave underlying profit before tax in line with consensus rather than ahead of it.
Finch said the group was monitoring the potential impact of the Iran conflict on customer sentiment, build cost inflation and interest rates, but added that assuming the conflict and its impact proved short, Persimmon was set to grow again in 2026.