<p>Persimmon has noted an “excellent performance” during its financial year, with the group’s revenues up 8% on 2020. The business has also announced a new chief financial officer.</p> <p>In a trading statement ahead of releasing its final results on March 2, the volume housebuilder said that for the year ending December 31 2021, its total group revenues rose to <span>£3.61 billon from the previous year’s £3.33 billion.</span></p> <p><span>New home legal completions lifted </span><span>7% to 14,551 but were still down on 2019’s </span>15,855. The homes’ average selling price increased <span>2.8% to £237,050 which Persimmon said partly reflected a higher proportion of new homes being sold to housing associations compared to 2020.</span></p> <p><span>The business expects its full year underlying </span><span>operating </span><span>margin to be around 28% </span><span>(2020: 27.6%)</span>, with the company having seen in the second half a “particular mix” of legal completions.</p> <p><span>And during the second half, Persimmon said it experienced “good levels of demand”. Sales rates were around 20% higher than those in the second half of 2019 – a more comparable period, it added.</span></p> <p><span>As of December 31 2021, the group’s forward sales were £1.62 billion, up 20% on 2019.</span></p> <p><span>On the latest announcement on high rise cladding remediation, Persimmon …