Savills plc, the international real estate advisor, today announces record results as the Group benefits from its broad spread of services across the globe.
Savills plc, the international real estate advisor, today announces record results as the Group benefits from its broad spread of services across the globe.
Key financial highlights
- Group revenue up 19% to £1,078.2m, £1,113.9m in constant currency, (2013: £904.8m).
- Underlying Group profit before tax* up 34% to £100.5m, £104.3m in constant currency, (2013: £75.2m).
- Group profit before tax up 21% to £84.7m (2013: £70.1m).
- Underlying profit margin increased to 9.3% (2013: 8.3%).
- Underlying basic EPS grew 28% to 55.2p (2013: 43.1p).
- Final ordinary and supplementary interim dividends up 24% to 19.25p per share (2013: 15.5p) taking the total dividend for the year up 21% to 23.0p per share (2013: 19.0p).
* Underlying profit before tax (‘underlying profit’) is calculated on a consistent basis in accordance with Note 3 to the preliminary statement.
Key operating highlights
- Acquisition of Studley, Inc. in May 2014 transformed Savills US capability and the business has traded strongly since acquisition under the “Savills Studley” brand
- Transaction Advisory revenues up 38% driven by the contribution from Savills Studley in the US, the recovery in certain Continental European markets, a record constant currency performance in Asia and a strong performance in the UK
- Record revenue in the UK on the back of a strong London performance and recovery in the regions
- Return to profitability in Continental Europe following improved market conditions and the benefit from the management actions taken in recent years
- Further growth from non-transactional services with Consultancy revenue up 13% and Property Management revenue up 3% with improved margins
- Cordea Savills investment management business grew revenue 8% and profits by 52%. Assets under Management (‘AUM’) rose by 41% to €7.2bn
- Acquisition of SEB Asset Management AG, announced separately today, will create a substantial European investment management business with an initial combined AUM of approximately €15bn and an Asia Pacific platform with approximately €2bn under management
Commenting on the results, Jeremy Helsby, Group Chief Executive, said:
“This was a strong year for Savills with revenues surpassing £1bn, a record for our Group, as we benefited from the diversity of revenue streams we have across the globe.
Our acquisition of Studley has performed strongly and has transformed our US capability, providing a significant platform to grow our operations under the new ‘Savills Studley’ brand. In Asia, the expected lower transaction volumes in Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore were more than offset by strong performances across other regions. We achieved record revenues in the UK and our European operations also returned to profitability.
We have made a solid start to 2015 with performance in line with management expectations. We retain a cautious view on the timing of the recovery in the Hong Kong commercial market and expect the UK residential market to remain subdued as a result of uncertainty around the General Election. We expect that these factors will lead to a greater than usual weighting of our performance towards the second half of the year. However, the strength of our enhanced US operation, the scope of our UK business and the breadth of our Asia Pacific coverage together with further improvement in Continental Europe, all position Savills well for the future.”