Flagship
Housing Group Limited (Flagship) trading update, covering the
six-month period to 30 September 2024
Flagship, the
parent company of Flagship Finance PLC and a Registered Provider of
Social Housing that owns and manages c.33,619 homes in the east of
England announces its unaudited trading highlights for the 6-month
period to 30 September 2024.
Flagship headline unaudited results and
highlights
·
Turnover up £11m on 2023 at £139.8m (£128.5m for the 6 months
to 30 September 2023)
·
Operating profit (including asset disposals and gain on joint
ventures) of £57.3m (41% margin), up from £51.6m (40% margin) for
the 6 months to 30 September 2023
· YTD
Low Cost Rental Accommodation (LCRA) TSM score of 73.8% up from
71.9% at 31 March 2024
·
Customer satisfaction at 86.4% in September 2024, the highest
level in the last 12 months
·
Delivered 162 new affordable homes YTD and on track to
complete approximately 500 new affordable homes by
year-end
· 67%
of homes at EPC-C in September 24. 2% above FY target reflecting
the Group's in-year strategic investment focus toward its 2030
target
· YTD
void loss at 0.6%
·
£47.5m invested (up from £46.8m in 2023) to improve our
existing homes
·
Gearing static year on year at 43% and healthy interest cover
above 200%
·
Liquidity coverage of 2.3x with £293m immediately available
liquidity
·
Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating of 13.3 (low risk) very
competitive amongst peers in the sector
Message from
Chief Financial Officer
Jonathan McManus,
Chief Financial Officer at Flagship, said: "Flagship has delivered
a strong set of results for the first six months of this financial
year. The Group continues to maintain solid operating margins and
stable liquidity headroom enabling us to continue investing in our
existing homes whilst delivering a new affordable home programme of
approximately 500 homes.
Our tenants tell
us that repair times are one of the biggest factors in their
satisfaction, so we've made it a priority to improve this
year.
Work-in-progress
repairs have dropped from around 11,000 in April 2024 to 7,700 by
September 2024. The percentage of repairs completed within 28 days
has risen from 60% to 78% in that time, with a goal of reaching 95%
by March 2025. When excluding older legacy repairs (which we're
prioritising), we're completing 99.7% of routine repairs within 28
days, exceeding our 95% target.
However, the
broader economic environment remains tough. Interest costs aren't
falling as quickly as predicted, and sector-wide cost pressures are
impacting operating margins.
We're committed to
smart investments, aiming for all properties to meet EPC-C by 2030,
while preparing for Decent Homes 2 and other regulatory changes
that are increasing costs.
We continue to
hold our Moody's A2 (stable) rating, and we're proud to share that
we recently achieved a Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating of 13.3 (low
risk), putting us among the top in our sector and highlighting our
strong ESG commitment at Flagship.
Bromford Housing Group merger
update
In June 2024
Flagship Group announced our intention to merge with Bromford
Housing Group. Significant progress has been made by both parties
with an expected merger date in the first half of 2025.
The merger
business case shows that the combination creates around £2bn in
additional borrowing capacity over 15 years. This funding will
enable new homes, large-scale regeneration projects, and investment
in existing homes, supporting the new Labour government's target of
1.5 million homes in five years.
This is an
exciting new chapter for Flagship Group and builds upon the robust
financial viability that the Group has maintained over a number of
years."
