Persimmon plc has forecast increases in both pre-tax profit and housing completions in the coming year, although the outlook is partly dependent on the duration of the ongoing conflict involving Iran in the Middle East.
The housebuilder reported strong financial results for the year ended 31 December 2025, with revenue rising significantly alongside higher levels of home completions.
Total group revenue increased by 17%, climbing from £3.2bn to £3.75bn. New home completions also rose by 12%, growing from 10,664 units in the previous year to 11,905.
The company said it expects completions to increase further this year but warned that customer confidence could be affected by how long the Middle East conflict continues.
Profitability also improved during the period. Pre-tax profit rose 11% from £359m to £397m, while underlying pre-tax profit increased 13% from £395m to £446m.
The underlying figure reflects profit before the impact of a net exceptional charge of £45m. Much of this cost related to building safety remediation work, particularly cladding replacement, along with a £15m payment linked to the settlement of an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority.
These exceptional costs were partially offset by £11m in profit generated from the sale of internet service provider FibreNest.
Looking ahead to the current financial year, Persimmon pointed to “greater mortgage availability and real wage growth” as encouraging indicators for the housing market. The business also reported a net private sales rate per outlet per week of 0.73 during the first nine weeks of the year, representing a 9% increase compared with the same period last year.
Despite the positive start to the year, the company acknowledged potential risks arising from geopolitical developments.
It said it was “monitoring the impact the conflict with Iran could have on our markets in 2026, including on customer sentiment, build cost inflation and interest rates”.
Persimmon expects to deliver between 12,000 and 12,500 housing completions during the year. The company also said underlying operating profit is anticipated to be “towards the upper end of current consensus”.
According to the company’s compiled analyst consensus for the 2026 financial year, published on 6 March, underlying operating profit is forecast to fall within a range of £486m to £517m, with the mean estimate for underlying pre-tax profit standing at £470m. Achieving that figure would represent an increase of roughly 5% on the current year’s performance.
However, Persimmon noted that both its completion targets and profit expectations are based on the assumption that the conflict involving Iran and its wider economic impact will be relatively short-lived.
The housebuilder also reported continued progress in addressing legacy building safety issues across its developments. Approximately 90% of known affected sites are now either fully tendered, currently under construction or already completed as part of the remediation programme.
Group chief executive Dean Finch said Persimmon expects the remediation programme “to be largely completed in the next two years”.
The company also announced a senior appointment within its regional leadership team. Rob Hart has been named regional chair of the company’s South West division following the promotion of Julian Roper to group construction director.
Hart returns to Persimmon from Barratt Redrow, where he served as managing director of its Bristol business. He previously spent nearly 12 years with Persimmon earlier in his career.
