Orbit Group, one of the UK’s largest contributors of affordable housing, reaffirms its clear market standing and robust financial strategy with the delivery of a very strong performance for the year ending 31st March 2022.
Highlights
- Group turnover ahead of budget at £374m, an increase of £19m on the prior year (FY2021: £355m)
- Operating profit increased by £19m to £131m including fixed asset sales (FY2021: £112m)
- Consistently strong operating margin excluding fixed asset sales in line with budget at 25.2% (FY2021: 25.4%)
- Revenue reserves increased to £826m (FY2021: £740m) underpinning a strong balance sheet position
- The Group portfolio has grown to 46,529 properties (FY2021: 45,702)
- Reaffirmed A3 credit rating by Moody’s
Strategic Progress
Strong progress in all areas of the Group’s corporate strategy, Orbit 2025, which sees continued focus on safety, service, quality of existing and new homes, and the environment, whilst increasing engagement with our customers, colleagues, and partners to improve communities.
- High Customer satisfaction levels retained with 4.3 out of 5
- Winner of the TPAS Outstanding Tenant Engagement Award (Over 10,000 homes)
- Continued investment in digital accessibility and digital customer experience with launch of new award-winning MyAccount self-serve cust—mer portal
- Increased investment and focus to support our customers and communities through new Thriving Communities strategy
- Investment in the community of £10.4m (FY2021: £6.4m), including additional support for customers during the energy crisis
- Customer arrears at the lowest level for eight years
- Continued excellence in Health and Safety with Merit in the British Safety Council’s International Safety Awards; RoSPA Highly Commended in the Public Service & Local Government Industry Sector Health and Safety Award; fourth consecutive year of RoSPA Gold Awards for customer safety and overall Health and Safety
- Robust Building Safety Strategy in place, providing a comprehensive risk management system ahead of incoming new regulations in 2023
- £81.5m invested into our existing housing stock with 99.9% of our homes meeting the Decent Homes Standard and 82.2% rated EPC Band C or above
4.3 rating on Glassdoor reflecting our sector leading employment experience and strong values-led culture - 6.9% reduction in annual carbon footprint and 33% reduction since 2019 baseline
- Launch of Net Zero Carbon commitments and roadmap
- 1,013 new homes built, with a strong housing market continuing to help to offset materials and labour cost increases
- Continued partnership with Homes England which will see Orbit deliver 4,200 homes
- Proposed Grouping Agreement with Swan Housing Association with the aim of Swan joining the Orbit Group later this year as a subsidiary — further information to be provided in due course
Commenting on the results Jonathan Wallbank, Group Finance Director, said: “The pandemic, war in Ukraine, rising inflation and cost-of-living crisis are being felt across the sector and the wider economy. However, despite these exceptional challenges, we have continued to deliver a very strong performance, increasing both profits and turnover, and maintaining a strong margin.
“We have also made strong progress in our corporate strategy — Orbit 2025 — maintaining good customer satisfaction levels and continuing our focus on improving our customer experience and services. The number of new homes delivered has increased year-on-year and we have continued to make good progress towards decarbonisation with our Social Housing Demonstrator projects and the launch of Net Zero Carbon targets and roadmap.”
Mark Hoyland, Orbit Group Chief Executive added: “Looking ahead, we continue to progress partnership discussions with Swan Housing Association with the aim that Swan joins the Orbit Group as a subsidiary later this year. We believe Swan to be a complementary fit for Orbit geographically and, should the grouping go ahead, it would create a combined housing portfolio of nearly 60,000 homes and over 125,000 customers across the UK, creating increased scale and value in the medium term.
“Our strategic progress and strength in governance and risk management, alongside our strong revenue reserves and liquidity position, reaffirms our clear market standing and financial strategy, meaning we are well-placed for the future.”
A copy of the Group company accounts is available in Orbit’s Investor Hub: Orbit Annual Report and Financial Statements 2021 – 22
