One of Australia’s biggest home builders says the industry has turned a corner, posting a $76-million turnaround over the financial year.
Metricon reported it was back in the black at the end of the 2023-24 financial year with earnings of $42.2 million, compared to $33.5 million in the hole the prior year.
During the past year, it said, the business had had a significant increase in demand as a surge in deposits showed—from 3303 in 2022-23 to 5279 in 2023-24.
Metro Victoria had the biggest increase, from 1554 to 2330, followed by Queensland’s 706 to 1443.
Building times had improved dramatically, particularly in the last quarter, Metricon said, leading to an upturn in completions.
“Nationally, Metricon handed keys over to 5319 customers in FY24, with many single-storey Metricon homes built in less than 100 business days,” it said.
Chief executive Brad Duggan said the company was kicking off the new financial year in a position of strength and confidence, representing a wider industry shift to a more positive future.
“After weathering a tumultuous period, our recent results indicate a strong future is on the horizon for the housing construction industry,” Duggan said.
“The Australian housing construction industry is robust, and it is time to look at it more positively.”
Metricon said the results could be attributed to factors including significant customer demand, improved building efficiency and “the hard work and dedication of the Metricon team and its supplier partners”.
Duggan said increasing stability of labour costs paired with clever design and premium suppliers had also contributed to Metricon’s overall results, saying they had “doubled down on strengthening our relationships with the best suppliers in the market”.
It is welcome new chapter for the builder. In February, 2022, The Urban Developer reported Metricon had been forced to renegotiate contracts with customers as the construction crisis deepened. The company received a $30-million injection for its owners in mid-2022.
In August of that same year, Metricon announced it would shed 225 staff nationally as part of an internal restructure.
That news came just months after founder Mario Biasin died.
