TIDM76FQ TIDM87FW
RNS Number : 3263M
LiveWest Treasury PLC
07 May 2020
LiveWest Trading Update for the 12 months ended 31 March 2020
including Covid-19 Update
LiveWest issues its unaudited group trading update for the 12
months ended 31 March 2020, with comparatives to the audited
financial statements for the 12 months ended 31 March 2019,
together with an update on LiveWest's response to Covid-19.
Covid-19 - Supporting customers, colleagues and communities
Our primary concern is the safety and wellbeing of our
colleagues and customers. Our customer service centre is fully
operational with all staff working remotely. Only emergency and
essential safety repairs are being carried out, with appropriate
personal protective equipment (PPE) being worn by our staff.
We have telephoned over 8,000 of our customers to find out how
they are managing, prioritising older customers, those who are
known to be disabled or vulnerable, as well as those living alone.
We have also established a team of Community Connectors who have
access to resources including accessing food, medicines, prepaid
electricity and gas cards as well as mental health support. We are
also launching our new Covid-19 crisis and hardship fund to support
those experiencing financial difficulties because of coronavirus.
We have pledged that no LiveWest customer will lose their home if
they cannot pay their rent because their financial circumstances
have changed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Other than essential field-based staff all our colleagues are
successfully working from home, and the majority of development
sites have closed down.
Covid-19 - Financial impact
We are performing stress tests on our business plan to assess
the impact the many challenges the pandemic will bring, including a
slow down in sales, an increase in rent arrears and wider economic
impacts. As the performance update below shows, LiveWest is in a
strong financial position to respond to the challenges of the
virus.
Liquidity at 31 March 2020
LiveWest had liquidity of GBP375m, consisting of available
undrawn facilities of GBP339m, and available cash of GBP36m.
LiveWest Treasury plc sold GBP50m retained Notes in February
2020.
Financial and Operating Performance
Surplus for the 12 months to March 2020 is GBP59m (2019:
GBP56m). Surplus on Disposal of Properties includes GBP12m relating
to homes outside our core operating area (2019: GBP6m). Housing
Properties (net of depreciation) have increased to GBP2,080m from
GBP1,950m at March 2019. As a result, net debt has increased to
GBP849m from GBP788m.
Statement of Comprehensive Income
12 months 12 months
Mar-20 Mar-19
GBPm GBPm
Turnover 248 233
Operating Costs (179) (167)
Change in the value of investment
properties - 1
Surplus on Disposal of Properties 20 14
Operating Surplus 89 81
----------
Net Interest Payable (29) (24)
Movement in Fair Value of Financial
Instruments (1) (1)
Surplus for the period 59 56
----------
Financial Indicators
Mar-20 Mar-19
Operating Margin on Social Housing
Lettings 32% 33%
Gross Profit Margin on Shared
Ownership Sales 25% 28%
Gross Profit Margin on Open Market
Sales 19% 23%
Sales as Percentage of Turnover 24% 22%
------------------------------------- ---------- ------------------
Sales of open market (our share only, if part of a joint
venture) and shared ownership homes totalled 451 units for the year
ended 31 March 2020 (2019: 349). As at 31 March 2020, we had 130
shared ownership stock units (March 2019: 125) and 3 open market
stock units (March 2019: 2).
Sales margins remain strong. House price growth, although
positive, is lower than in previous periods.
Customer satisfaction was 89.4% (31 March 2019: 90.5%). Void
losses for our general needs and sheltered stock were 0.64% (March
2019: 0.50%). Rent arrears were 1.93% (March 2019: 1.83%).
Development
We completed 1,158 affordable units in the 12 months ended 31
March 2020 (2019: 900). We have a contracted pipeline of 2,538
affordable homes (March 2019: 1,835).
Board and Executive Team Changes - 6 months to March 2020
LiveWest Homes Ltd: Jacqueline Starr was appointed to the Board
on 1 March 2020. There were no changes to the membership of the
board or the Executive Team.
LiveWest Capital plc: there were no changes to the membership of
the board.
LiveWest Treasury plc: there were no changes to the membership
of the board.
LiveWest Rating
LiveWest Homes Ltd is rated A2 (stable) by Moody's (June 2019),
and G1/V1 by the Regulator of Social Housing (July 2019).
END
For more information, please contact:
Andrew Hart, Director of Corporate Finance 01392 814444
https://www.livewest.co.uk/about-us/investor-relations/
Disclaimer
The information contained herein (the "Trading Update") has been
prepared by LiveWest Homes Limited (the "Parent") and its
subsidiaries (the "Group"), including LiveWest Treasury plc and
LiveWest Capital plc (each an "Issuer") and is for information
purposes only.
The Trading Update should not be construed as an offer or
solicitation to buy or sell any securities issued by the Parent,
the Issuer or any other member of the Group, or any interest in any
such securities, and nothing herein should be construed as a
recommendation or advice to invest in any such securities.
Statements in the Trading Update, including those regarding
possible or assumed future or other performance of the Group as a
whole or any member of it, industry growth or other trend
projections may constitute forward-looking statements and as such
involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results,
performance or developments to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Accordingly, no assurance is given that such forward-looking
statements will prove to have been correct. They speak only as at
the date of the Trading Update and neither the Parent nor any other
member of the Group undertakes any obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future developments, occurrence of unanticipated
events or otherwise. The information contained in the Trading
Update is unaudited.
None of the Parent, any member of the Group or anyone else is
under any obligation to update or keep current the information
contained in the Trading Update. The information in the Trading
Update is subject to verification, does not purport to be
comprehensive, is provided as at the date of the Trading Update and
is subject to change without notice.
No reliance should be placed on the information or any
projections, targets, estimates or forecasts and nothing in the
Trading Update is or should be relied on as a promise or
representation as to the future. No statement in the Trading Update
is intended to be a profit estimate or forecast. No representation
or warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the
Parent, any other member of the Group or any of their respective
directors, officers, employees, advisers, agents or any other
persons as to the accuracy or validity of the information or
opinions contained in the Trading Update (and whether any
information has been omitted from the Trading Update). The Trading
Update does not constitute legal, tax, accounting or investment
advice.
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
FR ARMATMTBMBLM
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