 reported a 8.8 percent rise in half-year pre-tax profits to £321 million, ahead of its own expectations.){kind=link}
Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) reported a 8.8 percent rise in half-year pre-tax profits to £321 million, ahead of its own expectations.
The strong performance for the six months to end-of-December were attributed to a boost in house completions outside of London, with completions in London remaining in line with previous expectations. Nevertheless, total completions were down 5.8 percent to 7,180 with a slowdown in the London property market impacting profit margins.
Ultimately, despite a fall in revenue by 3.2 percent to £1.8 billion, the figures were above its January projections of pre-tax profits which had anticipated 7 percent above the previous year totaling of £315 million.
Chief Executive of the company, David Thomas said of the strong performance:
“We have delivered another very strong first-half performance, pre-tax profits were up nearly 9% and completions outside of London at their highest level in nine years.”
With regards to outlook for the next financial year, Thomas remained upbeat about Barratt’s continual progression.
He commented: “With a record forward order book, strong consumer demand and a positive lending backdrop, we remain confident in our outlook for the full year.”
“Our confidence in the business going forward is reflected in the improved and extended Capital Return Plan.” He continued.
The group said that as of currently, trading remained strong following record total forward sales as of February 19, totaling £3.018 billion, up 17 percent year-on-year, with January resting at 16 percent to £2.3 billion.
As a result of the better-than-expected reporting, the construction company announced a redeveloped and extended Capital Return Plan with ordinary dividend cover at 2.5 times alongside special dividends of £175 million payable in November of this year and the next. The group is set to pay its interim dividend for the year of 7.3p, an increase from the 6.0p during the same period the year previously.
Amid the announcement, shares in Barratt Developments plc have been performing well up 2.24 percent as of 10.36AM (GMT).