Watkin Jones (WJG)

Sector:

Household Goods

Index:

FTSE AIM 100

27.25p
   
  • Change Today:
    -0.75p
  • 52 Week High: 55.60
  • 52 Week Low: 18.40
  • Currency: UK Pounds
  • Shares Issued: 256.65m
  • Volume: 850,455
  • Market Cap: £69.94m
  • Beta: 0.05

Watkin Jones warns on profits, announces CEO departure

By Michele Maatouk

Date: Wednesday 19 Jul 2023

LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Build-to-rent specialist Watkin Jones tanked after it warned on profits and announced the departure of its chief executive.
At the time of its interim results in May, it announced the forward sale of its PBSA (purpose-built student accommodation) scheme in Bristol and five other forward sales targeted for completion in FY23, two of which were under offer.

However, the company said in an update on Wednesday that since the interims, recent interest rate increases and "prevailing economic uncertainty have impacted negatively on market liquidity", meaning there is now "a greater degree of risks" over these transactions completing by the year end.

The firm also said it has reviewed its balance sheet against the more challenging macro-economic backdrop and increased cost of funding. It continues to explore the sale of a limited number of non-core assets and considers it "prudent" to reassess the carrying value of certain assets, which it expects to results in an impairment charge of around £10m.

Watkin Jones said its schemes in build continue to progress in line with expectations. However, in the event that it does not complete any new forward sales in the balance of the year, and taking into account the impairment charge, it does not expect to "materially improve" on the underlying profit of £2m reported for the first half.

"Our current expectation is that these challenging market conditions will persist into FY24, and against this more cautious backdrop, our FY24 PBIT is likely to be in the range of £15m to £20m," it said.

The group also said it expects to increase its exceptional provision for remedial works for legacy properties by an additional £30m to £35m. The cash cost of this is expected to be spread over the next five years.

Also on Wednesday, Watkin Jones announced the departure of chief executive Richard Simpson.

Chief investment officer Alex Pease will take on the role of interim CEO with immediate effect, while a formal process is undertaken to confirm a permanent CEO appointment.

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Note 1: Prices and trades are provided by Digital Look Corporate Solutions and are delayed by at least 15 minutes.

 

Watkin Jones Market Data

Currency UK Pounds
Share Price 27.25p
Change Today -0.75p
% Change -2.68 %
52 Week High 55.60
52 Week Low 18.40
Volume 850,455
Shares Issued 256.65m
Market Cap £69.94m
Beta 0.05

Watkin Jones Star Ratings

Compare performance with the sector and the market.
more star ratings
Key: vs Market vs Sector
Value
21.77% above the market average21.77% above the market average21.77% above the market average21.77% above the market average21.77% above the market average
18.18% below the sector average18.18% below the sector average18.18% below the sector average18.18% below the sector average18.18% below the sector average
Price Trend
39.32% below the market average39.32% below the market average39.32% below the market average39.32% below the market average39.32% below the market average
39.13% below the sector average39.13% below the sector average39.13% below the sector average39.13% below the sector average39.13% below the sector average
Income Not Available
Growth
75.77% below the market average75.77% below the market average75.77% below the market average75.77% below the market average75.77% below the market average
27.27% below the sector average27.27% below the sector average27.27% below the sector average27.27% below the sector average27.27% below the sector average

What The Brokers Say

Strong Buy 1
Buy 1
Neutral 1
Sell 0
Strong Sell 0
Total 3
buy
Broker recommendations should not be taken as investment advice, and are provided by the authorised brokers listed on this page.

Watkin Jones Dividends

  Latest Previous
  Interim Final
Ex-Div 08-Jun-23 02-Feb-23
Paid 30-Jun-23 02-Mar-23
Amount 1.40p 4.50p

Trades for 11-Jul-2025

Time Volume / Share Price
16:35 8,760 @ 27.25p
16:35 120 @ 27.25p
16:35 1,359 @ 27.25p
16:35 1,530 @ 27.25p
16:35 2,175 @ 27.25p

Watkin Jones Key Personnel

Chair Alan Giddins
CEO Alex Pease
CFO Simon Jones

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