The 18,900-home housing association said it has had to ‘flex’ its development programme due to the economic conditions, but is on track to meet its building target.
Yorkshire Housing has reported an 82% increase in its pre-tax surplus, boosted by increased sales.
The 20,000-home housing association, in a short trading update today, said its pre-tax surplus for the first half of the financial year is £11.3m, up from £6.2m in the same period the previous year.
The association has also increased its turnover, from £70.7m in the six months to 30 September 2023, to £83.7m as of 30 September 2024, it said in a short trading update.
The landlord was boosted by a £7.5m increase in social housing lettings income, while it made 13 open market sales, up from one last year and increased its shared ownership first tranche sales from 114 to 123.
Yorkshire Housing reported that it delivered 273 new homes in the first six months of the financial year.
Andy Oldale, executive director of finance and governance at Yorkshire Housing, said: “We have had to flex our development programme to reflect economic reality, but are on track to achieve our overall target of 8,000 new homes by 2035.”
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In its 2023/24 financial statement, the housing association reported having delivered 689 new homes over the year and noted that it has built or was in the process of constructing 4,400 of the 8,000 homes planned by 2035.
Yorkshire Housing’s operating surplus rose to £20.2m, up from £14.2m in the six months to 30 September 2023.
Yorkshire Housing’s interest cover on Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation and Amortisation, Major Repairs Included (EBITDA MRI) dropped to 138%, compared to 142% in 2023.
Its overall EBITDA interest cover increased from 225% in the six months to 30 September 2023, to 259% at the end of September this year. Social housing lettings interest cover increased from 88% in the same period last year to 111%.
Yorkshire Housing’s cash and undrawn facilities increased from £318m to £327.5m, and it reduced its 18-month liquidity requirement from £155m to £136.8m.
On the half-year financial update, Oldale said: “Despite a challenging economic climate, Yorkshire Housing has delivered improved financial performance compared to the same period last year.”
Oldale added: “Our market sales are also recovering with 13 outright sales in the first 6 months compared to just 1 for the same period last year.”
He continued: “Pressure on our costs continues, especially reactive repairs where we have seen a significant increase in cost in the first half of the year.
“This is clearly part of a sector-wide trend, however we are focused on improving our efficiency and in the process of implementing new systems to help reduce costs as well as working with our customers to reduce the number of reactive repairs.”
Oldale said that Yorkshire Housing continues to work with residents facing significant cost of living pressures to help sustain tenancies, noting that they have not seen an increase in the rate of arrears.
In closing, he said that Yorkshire Housing has good liquidity levels, remarking “we are well placed to deliver on our strategy and ensure as many customers as possible have a place they’re proud to call home”.
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