Persimmon says private sales have remained upbeat in 2021 to date

In an announcement on Wednesday, Persimmon plc (LON: PSN) said its private sales in 2021 to date have posted an increase. Customer enquiries, the company added, have also been encouraging in recent months. The news comes over a month after Persimmon said its profit declined in 2020 due to the COVID-19 disruptions.

Persimmon plc shares were reported about 2% up in premarket trading on Wednesday. Including the price action, the stock is now exchanging hands at £31.97 per share. In comparison, the FTSE 100 listed firm had started the year 2021 at a lower £27.20 per share. The price action should come in handy if you are interested in investing in the stock market.

Persimmon values its forward order book at £3.0 billion

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Persimmon said that its year-to-date average private sales rate in 2021 is significantly better than the same period last year. The housebuilding company refrained from giving an exact figure but said that the private sales rate in the current year stood at roughly 17% of the comparable period of 2019.

Persimmon valued its forward order book at £3.0 billion versus the year-ago figure of £2.40 billion and 11% ahead compared to the same period of 2019. The British firm reported selling price to the private market in 2021 to date at around £252,000 on average. In 2020, the average selling price was capped at a lower £244,500 in the same period.

Chief Executive Dean Finch said in Wednesday’s announcement:

“Our build rates continue to pre-COVID levels, and we remain on track to deliver first-half volumes approaching those of the first half of 2019.”

Persimmon has £940 million of cash and a £300 million revolving facility

As of 23^rd April, the York-headquartered company had £940 million of cash, a revolving facility worth £300 million, and deferred land commitments valued at £90 million. Persimmon reiterated its plans of paying a special dividend of 110 pence per share. The payment will be made in two equal instalments; first in August and another one in December.

In separate news from the United Kingdom, the London Stock Exchange Group said on Wednesday that its underlying income saw an increase in the first quarter.

Persimmon performed downbeat in the stock market last year with an annual decline of a little under 5%. At the time of writing, the London-listed company has a market cap of £10.20 billion and a price to earnings ratio of 16.02.