TIDM44EK
RNS Number : 7835X
Orbit Capital PLC
22 December 2023
Orbit Group's Interim Performance Update covering the six-month
period to 30(th) September 2023
22 December 2023
Orbit Group Limited ('Orbit Group, 'Orbit' or the 'Company'),
maintains a strong half-year performance* despite the challenging
economic headwinds.
Highlights
-- Group turnover for the year to date of GBP189.2m (2022/23 H1: GBP206.7m)
-- Operating surplus for the year to date excluding sale of
fixed assets of GBP43.7m (2022/23 H1: GBP49.4m)
-- Surplus for the year to date of GBP22.0m (2022/23 H1:
GBP45.4m, reflecting the completion of a GBP16.2m bulk fixed asset
disposal)
-- 402 new homes completed against a target of 331, of which 326 were affordable
-- Transactional customer satisfaction of 4.04 out of 5
-- Continued G1 (Governance) and V2 (Viability) rating from the Regulator of Social Housing
Financial performance
Despite the impact of high interest rates, overall property
sales are slightly ahead of budget, and build completions have
outperformed half-year targets, with 402 homes of all tenure types
delivered. Rental income is ahead of budget due to higher build
volumes, and voids are fractionally favourable to budgeted
levels.
However, inflationary pressures and additional repairs continue
to place upward pressure on operating costs.
Investing in our homes
Our focus continues to be on providing good quality, affordable
and safe homes for our customers. We invested GBP43.4 million in
our properties during this period (2022/23 H1: GBP35.5m) and
continue to improve the energy efficiency of our properties, with
84.1% of our homes now at EPC band C or above.
Housing fixed assets total GBP3.09bn (2022/23 H1: GBP2.96bn).
Net debt at the period end was GBP1.58bn (2022/23 H1: GBP1.52bn)
with GBP0.5bn (2022/23 H1: GBP0.5bn) of available liquidity.
Supporting our customers
The cost-of-living challenge remains a prominent issue for our
customers and a key focus of our support.
We introduced extra measures to help customers, including GBP2.4
million in cost-of-living support and increasing investment in our
Better Days programme, which provides customers with a range of
support from direct financial help and grants to mental health and
employment and skills support.
Nearly 4,000 customers have been supported during the half-year
through this programme and we have further enhanced access to this
vital support through the delivery of delivered 500 Better Days
activities within our communities and the launch of a Better Days
hub for customers who prefer face-to-face support.
Sustainability progress
We have updated our Sustainability Strategy and targets in
recognition of the cost-of-living crisis, the impact of climate
change on customers and recent world events, and secured two
sustainability-linked loans (SLL) linked to the achievement of our
sustainability Key Performance Indicators (KPI).
The Group's social impact value is standing at GBP10.1m, and
progression on our Net Zero Carbon Roadmap continues. Work to
improve the energy efficiency of 141 properties in the West
Midlands as part of Wave 1 of the government's Social Housing
Demonstrator Fund (SHDF) is nearing completion and work is well
underway to upgrade a further 212 properties as part of Wave 2.1
funding.
Great place to work
Supporting our strong Orbit culture, we have updated our Equity,
Diversity, and Inclusion strategy in collaboration with our
colleagues and launched a new colleague ambassadors' group to work
with us to shape our culture and values.
We received the Employer Recognition Scheme (ERS) Gold Award
from the Ministry of Defence for our support of the Armed Forces
community, and continue to achieve strong colleague engagement,
with 83% engagement in our most recent colleague survey.
Comment from Jonathan Wallbank, Group Finance Director:
"This continued to be an economically challenging environment,
with high interest rates placing pressure on the property market,
and customers facing high household costs as a result of the
cost-of-living crisis.
"In response, we have increased our levels of support and
arrears continue to remain low. Our new build programme has
performed well with rental income ahead of budget due to higher
build volumes, and voids are fractionally favourable to budgeted
levels.
"We remain a financially robust association with strong
liquidity position, continued business resilience and capability to
navigate the challenging economic climate."
- Ends -
* All financial figures for H1 2022/23 and H1 2023/24 are based
on unaudited management accounts.
For further information please contact:
investors@orbit.org.uk / Lisa Astle, Director of Communications
and Brand, lisa.astle@orbit.org.uk 07775 633957
Disclaimer: The information contained herein (the "Interim
Update") has been prepared by Orbit Group Limited (the "Parent")
and its subsidiaries (the "Group"), including Heart of England
Housing Association Limited, Orbit South Housing Association
Limited, Orbit Capital PLC (the "Issuers") and is for information
purposes only and has not been subject to external audit.
The Interim Update should not be construed as an offer or
solicitation to buy or sell any securities issued by the Parent,
the Issuers or any other member of the Group, or any interest in
any such securities, and nothing herein should be construed as a
recommendation or advice to invest in any such securities.
Statements in the Interim Update, including those regarding
possible or assumed future or other performance of the Group as a
whole or any member of it, industry growth or other trend
projections may constitute forward-looking statements and as such
involve risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results,
performance, or developments to differ materially from those
expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Accordingly, no assurance is given that such forward-looking
statements will prove to have been correct. They speak only as at
the date of the Interim Update and neither the Parent nor any other
member of the Group undertakes any obligation to update or revise
any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new
information, future developments, occurrence of unanticipated
events or otherwise.
None of the Parent, any member of the Group or anyone else is
under any obligation to update or keep current the information
contained in the Interim Update. The information in the Interim
Update is subject to verification, does not purport to be
comprehensive, is provided as at the date of the Interim Update and
is subject to change without notice.
No reliance should be placed on the information or any
projections, targets, estimates, or forecasts and nothing in the
Interim Update is or should be relied on as a promise or
representation as to the future. No statement in the Interim Update
is intended to be an estimate or forecast. No representation or
warranty, express or implied, is given by or on behalf of the
Parent, any other member of the Group or any of their respective
directors, officers, employees, advisers, agents, or any other
persons as to the accuracy or validity of the information or
opinions contained in the Interim Update (and whether any
information has been omitted from the Interim Update). The Interim
Update does not constitute legal, tax, accounting, or investment
advice.
www.orbitgroup.org.uk/about-us/partner-with-us/investor-hub
Note: Figures quoted in the update are based on unaudited
management accounts which are subject to review and further
adjustments, for example in the areas of pensions, investment
property valuation and taxation.
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END
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