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DCH surplus soars 35%
A South West housing association has seen its surplus rocket by 35% in the past year, its financial results show.
DCH, formerly Devon and Cornwall Housing, owns and manages 23,500 homes across the region. It has posted its highest ever operating net surplus of £36m for the year ending 31 March 2017, up from £27m in 2015/16.
Its turnover rose £10m on the previous year to £141m. Gearing – the ratio of debt to assets – remains well below the sector average at 32%.
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In 2015, DCH merged with 1,500-home landlord West Devon Homes to become one of the largest in the region.
DCH invested £91m to build 755 homes in 2016/17, with 608 for affordable rent and sale and 147 for open market sale. An additional £32m was channelled into maintenance and improvements on existing stock.
Social housing accounted for 75% of DCH’s turnover in 2016/17, down from 79% the previous year. Turnover from non-social housing activities rose 32% to £17m.
It took a £7m surplus from shared ownership and market sales, up from £5.3m in 2015/16.
Operating costs rose slightly from £94m to £96m, but the landlord’s operating margin climbed from 31% to 34%.
“This year has been our best yet in the history of DCH. There has been a continued improvement in our services, our financial and operational performance, and our reputation as an employer of choice,” said Paul Crawford, chief executive of DCH.
“We recognise that being efficient, effective and financially resilient has ensured that we generate the financial capacity to play a significant role in the provision of much-needed new affordable housing of all tenures across the South West.”
In May, DCH announced a merger with 11,000-home Knightstone, which it claims will provide it with capacity to build more than 15,000 homes over the next 10 years.
DCH currently has a five-year development programme of 4,500 homes, with 1,027 in development at the end of 2016/17.
