Taylor Wimpey plc

Thank you, Harry, and good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us. As usual, I have Chris here with me. So today we've released a statement ahead of our AGM this morning. As you'll have seen, we've reiterated our guidance and remain confident in our ability to deliver this year, and importantly, ensure that we are positioned for growth from 2025, assuming a supportive market. I'll make a few brief comments before we open up to Q&A this morning. So I know you'll be very interested in how the spring selling season has progressed. And while there remains some market uncertainty, as well as affordability issues for some of our customers, the period has been in line with what we expected. Mortgage rates have remained below last year's highs with very good product availability. More recently, we have seen some movement in swap rates and some small upward moves in mortgage rates since we last spoke. We note that market expectations for interest rate cuts have moved further out. So as you'd expect, we'll be watching this closely. The sales rate for the year to date is 0.73 and excluding bulks, it's 0.69. So this has increased from the rate we spoke to you about in February at 0.67 and is also a small uplift from what we reported at this point last year on an underlying basis. The cancellation rate is 13% and is back to normalised rates, having been at 18% in 2023, which we see is a sign of improved customer confidence and more resilient chains. So I'm pleased with how we've performed, which comes from a lot of hard work from our teams and is a testament, I think, to our marketing strategy as well as the quality of our excellent locations. Build cost inflation on new work remains around 1% and reduces to zero due to our self-help measures and net house price have been flat. Outlet openings are in line with our plans. We now have 215 outlets open and have operated from an average of 230 during the period. In terms of guidance, we expect to deliver 9,500 to 10,000 completions for 2024 and this hasn't changed from what we said at the full year. But as flagged back then, first half operating margin will be lower than the second half of 2023, principally due to embedded bill cost inflation and slightly lower pricing working its way through the order book. We have had a consistent strategy over several years to build a strong and resilient business, and we are set up to manage the business through the cycle for the benefit of all our stakeholders, I think a great demonstration of this is our differentiated ordinary dividend policy, which provides a reliable income stream for investors through the cycle. So subject to approval at today's AGM, the final dividend today of 4.79 pence per share will be paid to shareholders in May, meaning that we will have returned a total 9.58 pence per share, or $339 million, to shareholders via the 2023 dividend. I did say I'd keep it brief, so in summary, the encouraging signs we flagged previously have continued. Of course, we aren't complacent. We have a general election later in the year, as well as global conflicts and uncertainty, but we continue to execute in line with our strategic priorities and to focus on prioritising value, driving increased operating efficiency, cost savings and value improvement. and also continuing to invest in areas that matter for the long-term success and sustainability of the business. All this together with our excellent land bank means we are poised for growth from 2025, assuming a supportive market. So now let's open up to questions.

Thank you. If you'd like to ask a question, please press star followed by one on your telephone keypad now. If you change your mind, please press star followed by two. And when preparing to ask your question, please ensure that your phone is unmuted locally. Our first question today is from the line of Chris Millington of Deutsche Numis. Chris, your line is now open. Please go ahead.

Thank you. Morning, Jenny. Morning, Chris. Thanks for taking my questions. A few if I could, please. First, I'd just like to explore the sales rate evolution over the year today first. And perhaps you can remind us where the spot rate was at the back end of February when you last reported, just so we can put this rate into context. That's number one. Second one's just really about what you've been doing on pricing and incentives, any change there, and perhaps have you changed your desire to do bulk deals in relation to this supportive backdrop? And then the final one's just a bit of a checking query, Jenny. Did you mention you're currently off 215 outlets? And if that is the case, how would you expect these to evolve over the year? It just surprises me it's down at 215 at the moment relative to that first half average. Many thanks.