Persimmon Plc

Hello and welcome to the Persimmon 2021 full year results presentation. My name is Courtney and I'll be your coordinator for today's events. Please note that this call is being recorded and for the duration your lines will be on listen only. However, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and this can be done by pressing star 1 on your telephone keypad to register your question. If you require assistance at any time, please press star zero and you will be connected to an operator. And I will now hand you over to your host, Dean Finch, Chief Executive, to begin today's conference. Thank you.

Thank you. Good morning all. I'll start by saying a few words as usual and then we can take any questions. I hope you've had the opportunity to listen to the presentation we released online earlier this morning and obviously I'll refer you to it. In 21 we saw growth in our volumes, our profit margins and the cash generation so it was a very good year. We also took significant steps to establish ourselves as a leading responsible developer and I believe we have led the industry both in terms of cladding and in resolving the CMA inquiry. We also took significant steps to improve the quality of what we build and the service we provide to customers and I'm delighted that we expect in a few weeks' time to be recognised as a five-star builder. Providing customers with outstanding value, along with outstanding service and quality, is a key strategic objective. We're investing in our business, as our land holdings demonstrate, and we're able to do this without sacrificing margin. We're also investing in our brick, tile and timber frame factories, and this will enable us to build more, build better, build faster and build greener. and we're also investing in our people. The new group operational management structure, led by internal promotions, will ensure better and more consistent delivery across the business and further consolidate Persimmon's exceptional strengths. In terms of sales, the year has started strongly, and as best as we can currently see in the full year, we expect to grow by between 4% and 7%, with margins remaining resilient at around that delivered for the full year of 2021. albeit with a slightly greater HA mix. Build cost inflation is obviously significant, but we continue to be able to pass this on with pricing holding firm. We start the year with a lower number of outlets than we would like, but plan to open more over the course of the year, with us ending the year in a much stronger position. But this will of course mean a slightly different phasing in profits between H1 and H2. We have made good progress opening outlets since the start of the year. Along with everyone else, we watch in horror the events unfolding in Ukraine, but I remain confident that Persimmon, as a responsible developer, has a strong future ahead of it as it continues to deliver industry-leading margins, growth, capital returns and a five-star product. I'm joined this morning by Mike, that's Mike Smith, Julia and Martin, I will now be happy to take any questions you might have.

Thank you. As a reminder, if you would like to ask a question on today's call, please press star 1 on your telephone keypad. Please ensure your line is unmuted locally and you will be advised when to ask your question. That was star 1 on your telephone keypad. And our first question comes in from the line of Ainsley Lemon calling from Investec. Please go ahead.