Persimmon revenues drop as housebuilder puts customer care improvements ahead of completions

Persimmon said it traded well in the year to December 31, 2019, with total group revenues at £3.65bn.

This is however a 2.4 per cent reduction on the previous year when total group revenues were £3.74bn.

The firm said this reflects the action it is taking to ensure it delivers improved levels of quality and service to its customers.

Dave Jenkinson, chief executive of Persimmon, said: “Persimmon continues to make good progress with the implementation of its customer care improvement plan.

“Central to this plan is putting customers before volume, with new home legal completions for 2019 being 4 per cent lower than last year.

“Delivering the maximum benefit to our customers from our quality and service improvement initiatives will continue to be my top priority for 2020.

“I am pleased with the progress we have made in 2019 and there is more to do.

“Action taken to maintain our increased levels of work in progress investment, the increase in quality assurance and customer service resources, and our plans for the implementation of the recommendations of the recent Independent Review, will all add to our momentum.”

New housing revenues reduced by 3.5 per cent to £3.42bn from £3.55bn. New home legal completion volumes were 15,855 down from 16,449 the previous year, including private sales of 12,463 new homes, in 2018 there were 13,341. The firm had an average selling price of circa £215,700, which was in line with last year.

Persimmon said it anticipates pre-tax profits to be in line with its market consensus.

The housebuilder also announced that non-executive director Claire Thomas is to step down at the beginning of next month.

Ms Thomas, who will leave York-based Persimmon on February 1 to pursue other interests, joined the housebuilder’s board in August 2019.

She said: “I have valued being part of the Persimmon Board and the experience it presented but it has also made clear to me my preference for working in a large scale complex global business environment.

“In my time on the board I have seen clear and determined efforts to transform the business and I wish Persimmon the best in their ongoing efforts.”

Roger Devlin, chairman of Persimmon, said: “Claire has made a strong contribution to the board during her time and we are disappointed to see her leave. We wish her every success for the future.”