Countrywide sounded a note of optimism in an unscheduled trading update this morning, despite a further slide in income.
Last year, it said, total group revenue for the 12 months to the end of December was £627m, against £672m the year before. Adjusted EBITDA – profits after costs are stripped out – sunk to £33m, against £65m in 2017.
Income in sales and lettings was £329m, down from £361m. A slide of 16% in sales was accompanied by a “strong performance” in lettings, although this was also described as “flat”. Income in business to business was £213m, down from £221m, and financial services revenue was £84m, falling from £87m the year before.
Net debt was £70m, Countrywide said.
However, Countrywide said its performance was in line with its expectations, and that it had made “significant progress” on implementing its ‘back to basics’ programme and said that there is “more opportunity” to come this year.
Countrywide said it had built back industry expertise in sales and lettings at both regional and branch levels.
The register of properties for sale and let was up 9% year on year. The pipeline of agreed sales awaiting exchange ended the year up 5%, having begun the year 21% down.
Countrywide also reported ancillary services income for each £1 of estate agency revenues was 44p last year, up from 38p the year before.
Countrywide said it was “encouraged” by the progress it has made in its turnaround plan, but added: “Nevertheless, we remain cautious about the market outlook for 2019 and continue to closely monitor market conditions arising from the wider political and economic environment.”
Countrywide is due to issue its results on March 7.
Comments (16)
Still have the tenant fee ban to come…. when nearly 30% of Lettings turnover comes this way and the margins are less than half that….. will £33m be enough?
I was having a nice little chat with The Quirkster last night about this.
He was reacting – less than favourably – to another’s coverage of the topic. He wasn’t impressed what he called spin and announced that CW “continues to decline”.
I’m guessing that the green eyed monster within is a tad miffed that eMoov’s decline didn’t have a £33million profit behind it…
…any other theories?
I’m astonished that Quirk has the cheek to make such pronouncements.
CW is a big ship and will take some time to turnaround and its a tough market, still £33m profit is better than anything Emoov ever managed , actually even a profit!
Meanwhile the smouldering hulk of millions of pounds of investors money, lost jobs with unpaid salaries and punters who have lost their pay up front money is not the platform I would use to knock others Mr Quirk.
Finally , PR is about promoting clients not yourself.
Funny you should say that…
Turnaround? Our local countrywide office is like a roundabout, staff change almost every week!
Stock Market likes it as its better than expected (The bar being set pretty low) Now an opportunity for the sponsors of the money raiselast summer who got stuck with some unwanted shares to offload
Stock market likes this news.
Worth bearing in mind, in spite of all the problems and challenges, they are still making more money than the whole “online” sector put together !
better than expected but wait for bottom line actual. I heard today another large corporate profits were 50% down YOY as well so not too bad everything considered.
Which Corporate is this?
If these guys are optimistic, then its good for all us High Street Agents.
Well, it had the potential to look much worse for Countrywide….. yet if it’s still making money there is hope.
I would rather see a High Street Estate Agent survive fitter for the future whilst the Charlatan Online Property Listers implode as they falsely claim to be “just like an estate agent” ….when they are clearly not.
“The register of properties for sale and let was up 9% year on year. The pipeline of agreed sales awaiting exchange ended the year up 5%, having begun the year 21% down”
and this stat came from BM’s reporting to their AMs, who had to report to their RMs, before they had to give to their DMs who then had to report to the CEO… each adding a few cheeky units in their but all starting with a BM too scared to say my pipeline is 50% of what the tinternet says.
A number of their brands were caught out by this before the IPO…..a deep clean of the pipelines and register quickly followed and it was a bit ugly!
whats the business 2 business income? surveys?
Lambert Smith Hampton Commercial property The Jewel in The Crown and revenue there under the cosh