persimmon plc annual report december 2005
wh ere the h eart is
annual report december 2005
10549 ra 2005 cover  20306  1204  page 1 notice
notice is here
of persimmon plc 
on thursday 20 ap
purposes
1to receive and ad
statements for th
2to declare a fina
to reelect the follo
reelection
3john white
4hamish leslie m
5david thompso
to elect the followi
annual general me
6adam applegart
7nicholas wrigley
8to reappoint kp
conclusion of th
directors to dete
9to approve the d
december 2005
10 to pass the foll
that the compa
market purchase
act 1985 of ord
provided that
a this authority
which may be ac
aggregate of 295
or at the conclus
except in relatio
was concluded b
would or might b
b the maximum
more than 5 ab
derived from the
immediately pre
minimum price 
maximum and m
by order of the boa
neil francis 
group company s
registered office
persimmon house 
fulford
y ork yo19 4fe
20 march 2006
£180892
average selling price
5 
£5278m
profit from operations
6
£4954m
profit before tax 
6
1184p
basic earnings per share
4
31p
dividend per share
13
01 financial highlights
02 chairman’s statement
07 chief executive’s review
15 financial review
26 board of directors 
30 divisional boards
31 directors’ report
33 statement of directors’
responsibilities
36 remuneration report
43 corporate responsibility
44 corporate governance
47 report of the independent
auditors to the shareholders of
persimmon plc
48 consolidated income statement
49 consolidated balance sheet
50 company balance sheet
51 consolidated cash flow
statement
52 company cash flow statement
53 consolidated statement of
recognised income and expense
54 company statement of
recognised income and expense
55 notes to the financial statements
81 group transition to ifrss
84 company transition to ifrss
86 shareholder information
87 directory
90 persimmon plc directors 
 company information
91 six year record
92 financial calendar
ibc notice of annual general
meeting
10549 ra 2005 cover  20306  1212  page 2 01 persimmon plc annual report 2005 
doing w e ll
persimmon is the uks leading housebuilder
w e built over 12000 homes last year on more than
400 sites this means that we offer the widest choice
of quality new homes in the greatest number of
quality locations throughout the uk w e aim to
provide the highest levels of design construction 
and service so however you live your life youll 
feel more at home with persimmon
profit from operations £m
∆

Summary:
 02 persimmon plc annual report 2005 
chairman’s statement
2005 was another record year for persimmon with net pretax
profits of £4954 million 2004 £4680 million basic earnings
per share increased to 1184p 2004 1135p
these figures are the first full year results which have
been prepared in accordance with international financial
reporting standards “ifrss” which were effective at 
31 december 2005
when we published our restatement of financial 
information for 2004 under ifrss on 24 may 2005 we
demonstrated that the transition from uk generally 
accepted accounting principles “uk gaap” did not have 
a material effect on our financial results this remains the 
case for 2005 for example profit before tax and goodwill
amortisation on a uk gaap basis for 2005 was 
£4995 million 2004 £4704 million
the year was hugely significant for the group with the
announcement in november 2005 of our £643 million
successful offer for westbury plc this acquisition was
completed on 17 january 2006 since then we have been
implementing our integration plans for that business
i am pleased to report that this process has proceeded
extremely well and the initial stages of integration have been
completed to plan the acquisition is an ideal fit for
persimmon with an excellent geographic overlap which creates
an enlarged business building c 16700 homes per annum
we also purchased the net assets of senator homes a small
business in cumbria for £25 million including borrowings 
on 13 december 2005 this has enlarged our lancashire
operation and has already been fully integrated into persimmon
as a result of the progress the group has made persimmon
entered the ftse 100 in december being the first pure
housebuilder ever to do so
in 2005 we completed the sale of 12636 2004 12360 
homes at an average selling price of £180892 2004 £172431
an increase of 5 giving a turnover of £229 billion 
2004 £213 billion despite more challenging conditions
throughout 2005 we were able to maintain operating 
margins at similar levels to the prior year at 231 
2004 234 we increased operating profits to 
£5278 million 2004 £4980 million
10549 ra 2005 front  20306  1159  page 02 03 persimmon plc annual report 2005 
turning to our cash position net borrowings at 31 december
2005 were £266 million giving gearing of 16 this was 
after paying £25 million for senator homes and £169 million
for the 261 of westbury plc which we bought in the
stockmarket on 24 november 2005 the day of the
announcement of the recommended offer
in my interim statement on 23 august 2005 we committed 
to pay total dividends for 2005 of not less than 304 pence 
per share 2004 275 pence we are in fact now proposing
total dividends for 2005 of 31 pence per share representing an
increase of 127 over dividends paid in 2004 we paid an
interim dividend of 12 pence per share in october 2005
and will recommend a final dividend of 19 pence per share
which will be payable on 21 april 2006 to shareholders on 
the register on 10 march 2006 as before we are offering a
scrip dividend alternative
we continued to be very selective about our land purchases
throughout the year our landbank of consented plots owned
and under control at the year end was 63336 plots since the
acquisition of westbury this has increased to c 78000 plots
providing a land supply of over 4
1
 2 years this length of
landbank is essential for a business of our scale given the
continuing difficulties and challenges to be addressed in
achieving satisfactory detailed planning consents throughout
the uk
we have seen a good start to 2006 with good forward sales 
in most areas on 26 february our total sales to date for 
the current year are over 7000 units at c £125 billion sales
revenue this includes an initial contribution from westbury
current visitor levels to our developments across the uk 
are encouraging
on 20 april 2006 john millar sir chips keswick and myself
will all retire from the board i am honoured to have been
invited to become life president of persimmon i would like to
thank john and chips very sincerely for the incredible
contribution which they have both made to persimmon’s
success over the last 20 years
as announced last year john white will take over my 
position as group chairman and mike farley will become
chief executive both john and mike have been exceedingly
successful in their long careers with persimmon i know that
they will both continue that success in their new roles
i am also delighted to welcome to the board of persimmon
adam applegarth chief executive of northern rock plc and
nicholas wrigley a managing director of nm rothschild
as nonexecutive directors the wealth of experience which
they both have will bring added strength to our board for 
the future
i am proud to have led persimmon for 34 years and our
success over all those years has been achieved by the fantastic
efforts of every member of our staff at all levels in the period
since april 1985 when persimmon became a listed company
we have built c 120000 homes during this time we have
achieved growth in total shareholder return of over 25 on a
compound annual basis and have increased the group’s market
capitalisation from £14 million to over £4 billion i know that
the growth and success of persimmon will continue unabated
thanks to their efforts i thank them all and wish every one of
them all the very best for the future
duncan davidson chairman
27 february 2006
10549 ra 2005 front  20306  1159  page 03 04 persimmon plc annual report 2005 
10549 ra 2005 front  20306  1159  page 04 05 persimmon plc annual report 2005 
spoilt f o r…
w e are consistently building good quality
homes ranging from one bedroom apartments
to five bedroom detached houses
above
the hundreds
elvetham heath hampshire
10549 ra 2005 front  20306  1159  page 05 06 persimmon plc annual report 2005 
above
persimmon gardens syston
leicester
10549 ra 2005 front  20306  1159  page 06