Henry Boot PLC (BOOT) Q4 2023 Earnings Call

Investor webinar replay

Replay transcript excerpt

You two giggling at the back. So I think we're on. Now, just before we start the formal bit, just look at this. This is an image of what we've been building in Raynham. And I know when I say this that Clyde's thinking I need to get out more. But what a wonderful – that's an industrial unit, yeah? You can see the solar panels on the roof. You've got the Thames there, walkway. We'll green a lot of it, so it will be pretty biodiversified. And that's an example of what Henry Boot's building. That's just an aside, just to get you all warmed up. So let's get to the agenda. So it's going to be the normal running order. I'll talk you through operational highlights, then I'll go through the medium-term objectives. Then Darren's going to come on and do financial and land promotion. Then I'll finish off with development, construction and outlook. And as you can imagine, I'm going to start off on investment case, but this time it's a refreshed investment slide. So we're focused on delivering high-quality projects, prime commercial developments and premium houses with strong ESG credentials in three key markets. Whilst our markets have slowed, I think that the results this morning show that this emphasis on quality means that we've been able to maintain demand and actually increase sales. As shown by the bar chart at the top on your right, we've continued our long record of delivering attractive returns with a 10-year through the cycle rocky, averaging nearly 13% per annum. What's helped us to achieve this, I think, is effective management of the balance sheet, but also conservative gearing. There's a clear strategy to grow the business and we've got a wealth of opportunity within the portfolio to achieve that. And I believe we manage our assets smartly. We've actively recycled £...