9th Feb 2021 08:26
(Alliance News) -Â Bellway PLC on Tuesday said it delivered a positive six-month trading performance amid a "robust" housing market.
Shares in Bellway were up 2.6% at 3,109.00 pence in London on Tuesday, the stock amongst the top performers in the FTSE 250.
The housebuilder reported "record" first half volume output, with the completion of 5,656 new homes in the six months to January 31, up 6.3% on a year ago. Bellway pointed to "strong underlying demand", with a 3.3% increase in the private reservation rate to 156 per week.
Housing revenue rose by over 12% to around GBP1.72 billion in the half, helped by strong growth in homes sold. The average selling price rose by 5.8% to around GBP303,200.
The FTSE 250 constituent said that sales rates were "more pronounced" at the start of the financial year, given the pent-up demand arising from the Spring national lockdown. The reservation rate slowed during November, as the sector transitioned to the new Help-to-Buy rules and more widespread lockdown measures were reintroduced.
"Despite the escalation of these 'lockdown' measures in the new calendar year, sales rates have since recovered to a more normalised level, boosted by the effective transition to the new Help-to-Buy scheme, which has been well received by our customers," said Bellway.
While there remains uncertainty, Bellway said the roll-out of coronavirus vaccines provides some optimism and there remains an "underlying requirement" for new homes in the UK.
The company expects to complete around 9,800 homes in financial year ending July 31, up from 7,522 the prior year. With this expected increased level of output, the underlying operating margin for the full-year is likely to improve by at least 200 basis points on the 14.5% reported for the 2020 financial year.
"Beyond this financial year, Bellway is in a robust position. Its long-term approach, strong operational focus and offering of high-quality homes should enable it to continue meeting underlying market demand. At the same time, our strong financial position and flexible capital structure provides ongoing resilience to respond to any unexpected changes in the economic environment," said Bellway.
By Lucy Heming;Â [email protected]
Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
Related Shares:
Bellway