The company finished the year with an order book value of £1.77bn, down from £1.94 bn, year-on-year.

Taylor Wimpey expects its operating profit for the year to be at the “top end” of its guidance range of £440m to £470m, however this would be around half of the £923.4m it earned in 2022.

The housebuilder reported 10,848 total group completions for the year to end of December, down from 14,154 in 2022.

The cancellation rate remained flat at 18%, while average selling prices increased by 5.1% in the UK to £370,000 from £352,000 in 2022.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould says housebuilder Taylor Wimpey has a familiar grumble in its latest missive to the market as it bemoans planning delays.

“The industry is often quick to point out it is at the mercy of regulation and under-resourced local planning departments when it comes to delivering projects.

“The company seems to be focusing on margins rather than volume as it pulls back on completions – and notably the average selling price on new-build properties was up materially year-on-year”.

Mould suggests the hopeful sign for Taylor Wimpey and its rivals is the recent improvement in mortgage availability as this could help revive demand in what had become a fairly moribund property market.

“The company is not getting carried away by any recent improvement in the backdrop and remains notably tight-lipped on the immediate outlook – beyond a somewhat encouraging reference to a ‘good level’ of enquiries at the start of the year.

He adds: “Taylor Wimpey will hope its longer-term prospects can be supported by the dynamics of a UK housing market which remains undersupplied.”

Yesterday, rival housebuilder Persimmon’s latest trading statement proved something of a mixed bag. Like Taylor Wimpey, its new home completions were down – 9,922 for the year, 33% below 2022 figure. However, the number was ahead of the 9,500 target given in November.