Countrywide PLC Trading Statement (9782V)
November 09 2017 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMCWD
RNS Number : 9782V
Countrywide PLC
09 November 2017
9 November 2017
Countrywide plc Quarter 3 Trading Update
Countrywide plc ("Countrywide" or the "Group") (LSE:CWD), the
UK's largest integrated property services group, issues its trading
update for the quarter ended 30 September 2017.
Total Group revenue for Q3 was GBP175.1m, an increase of 2%
compared with Q2 and down 7% year on year. This represents a
resilient performance in London sales and lettings and in Financial
Services, and a solid performance in B2B, offsetting the effect of
slower housing transactions across the UK. Despite the sustained
challenges in the estate agency market, our cost actions are
delivering. As in previous years, the final quarter remains
important and we currently expect our results for the full year to
be towards the lower end of the range of market expectations.
Within estate agency, Q3 revenue was GBP47.8m (2016: GBP57.0m).
Transaction levels were up in Q3 compared with Q1 and Q2, with Q3
revenue up 2% on Q2. Revenue was up 1.5% in London compared with Q2
and revenues across the UK estate agency business increased 2% on
Q2. Our digital proposition has been rolled out to over 50% of the
network and generally delivers a net benefit in market share. We
are continuing to evaluate our position in the markets that benefit
from the digital offering before rolling out this proposition to
the rest of the network. Year on year revenue for Q3 in London was
down 5%, while the UK estate agency business declined 23%
reflecting the strong comparatives in Q3 2016 prior to the full
effect of the market uncertainty which affected the fourth quarter
of 2016.
Third quarter lettings revenue was GBP47.3m (2016: GBP49.0m),
with London flat year on year and a small decline in the rest of
the UK.
The gross value of total mortgages arranged in the quarter was
GBP4.7bn, up 16% year on year as new intermediary channels
mitigated a slowdown in the estate agency derived volumes.
Financial services revenue was GBP22.3m (2016: GBP23.2m), a decline
of 4% reflecting the change in mix, with strong double digit growth
in the Buy to Let Business, Mortgage Bureau and Mortgage
Intelligence channels offset by lower transactional volumes from
the high street. In October 2017, the Group also announced that it
had entered into a partnership with Blenheim Chalcott to develop an
online mortgage broking business as well as a set of digital tools
for mortgage advisors, with an expected launch date of early
2018.
Our B2B revenue increased 1% with a strong performance in
surveying. The Group renewed its longstanding partnership with
Nationwide Building Society as their primary valuation and survey
provider for a further three years until 31 October 2020. In
addition, we saw a resilient performance in estate and asset
management, auctions and our commercial business, Lambert Smith
Hampton. The final quarter is always an important quarter in our
commercial business.
Operating costs were down 7% year to date. The GBP19m of 2017
cost programmes have been delivered and we are busy mobilising our
cost transformation plans for 2018 and beyond, which are expected
to deliver as much again.
Quarter 3 Group EBITDA and operating cash flow were in line with
the Board's expectations.
Alison Platt, Group CEO said:
"We have a clear strategy founded on being the provider of
choice for property services in the UK and to give customers the
ability to use Countrywide across multiple channels. During the
quarter, we continued to extend multi-channel offerings to our
customers, which shows through in the resilience of the overall
revenue performance. Our focus on cost reduction remains equally
unabated and we are mobilising the next phase of our cost
transformation programme.
The market for housing transactions remains challenging and is
likely to be down overall compared with 2016. As in previous years,
the final quarter remains important and we currently expect our
results for the full year to be towards the lower end of the range
of market expectations."
-Ends-
Contacts:
Media Investors
Laura Gainsford Caroline Somers, Investor
Laura.Gainsford@teneobluerubicon.com relations
+44 7826 916574 investor@countrywide.co.uk
About Countrywide plc
Countrywide is the UK's largest integrated property services
Group, including the largest estate agency and lettings network.
Countrywide's network of expertise combining national scale and
local reach helps more people move than any other business in the
UK and is structured around four key business units: Retail,
London, B2B and Financial Services. We are proud of our strong
position:
-- GBP19 billion worth of property sold in 2016 - More homes in the UK than anyone else
-- GBP16 billion of mortgages completed in 2016 - Largest single mortgage broker in the UK
-- 90,000 total properties under management - Largest player in a fragmented market
Countywide plc's award-winning service has earned over 50
high-profile industry awards during 2017 with customers voting
Countrywide Best Large Estate Agency Group, Best Large Lettings
Group and Best National Conveyancing Group at the 2017 ESTAS
awards.
1. Forward Looking Statements
This announcement has been prepared solely to provide additional
information to the shareholders of Countrywide plc in order to meet
the requirements of the FCA's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. It
should not be relied on by any other party, or for other purposes.
Forward-looking statements have been made by the directors in good
faith, using information available up until the date on which they
approved this statement. Forward-looking statements should be
regarded with caution, because of the inherent uncertainties in
economic trends and business risks.
2. Next Results Announcement
The next trading update is expected to be the 2017 full year
results, to be issued in March 2018.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
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