Redrow announces 58 per cent revenue slump

Redrow, the UK's largest housebuilder, today reported a 58 per cent fall in revenue, alongside a 43 per cent cut in its workforce.

The company saw its revenue slump, from £353.1 million in 2007, to £149.5 million in 2008, in the six months to December.

Redrow also witnessed a pre-tax loss of £46.2 million, compared to the £35.8 million profit seen the year before.

Alan Bowkett, chairman of Redrow, said: "Redrow responded early to the unprecedented market conditions, taking swift and decisive action within the business. We have implemented a major cost reduction programme which is delivering significant savings and we are executing tight control of our cash flows. In both these areas, we are ahead of our plan."

House prices also fell for Redrow, with the average selling price for one of their homes dropping from £162,700 in 2007 to £140,500 in 2008. House price falls were generally consistent with indices for the whole market, of approximately 16 per cent during 2008.

The company said they had acted quickly to the changing housing market conditions over the last year, but the "marked reduction in the availability of mortgage finance" had been "strongly felt."

In his chairman's statement, Mr Bowkett announced Redrow had seen an increase in visitor levels and sale reservations since January, but "improvement in macro-economic conditions remains fundamental to deliver a recovery in the housing market."

Redrow also revealed the reduction of its workforce by 350 employees last year, which would be further cut by making 90 more redundancies this year.

Mr Bowkett added: "Our strategy in the medium term remains focused on the strength of our forward land bank and the delivery of a differentiated product to our customers. This will best position the company to be able to deliver value for shareholders once market conditions improve."