13th Jan 2016 07:18
LONDON (Alliance News) - Housebuilder Barratt Developments PLC on Wednesday continued the positive news flow from the housebuilding sector as it said it sold more homes at higher prices in the first half and was confident on its outlook for the rest of its financial year.
The FTSE 100-listed group said it sold a total of 7,626 homes in the six months to the end of December, up from 6,971 a year earlier, at an average selling price of GBP254,000, up 11% from the GBP229,200 average price in the first half of the prior financial year.
Barratt's update follows those already released by blue-chip rivals Persimmon PLC and Taylor Wimpey PLC, both of which confirmed the strength of the UK housing market in 2015 as they also sold more homes at higher prices and at better margins, setting the sector up for a very positive reporting season.
Barratt said its net private reservations per active site per week also increased, up to 0.66 from 0.58 the year before, a 14% rise, while its forward sales book, including its joint ventures, totalled GBP2.02 billion at the end of 2015, up from GBP1.68 billion at the end of 2015.
"We have seen an excellent first half performance, increasing our completions by 9% whilst maintaining our industry leading quality," said Chief Executive David Thomas.
"Overall, market conditions are good and we remain confident in our outlook for the full year as we continue to execute our strategies: aimed at ensuring disciplined growth, improving key financial metrics through a focus on efficiency and the continued delivery of attractive cash returns," Thomas added.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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