25th Mar 2015 07:52
LONDON (Alliance News) - Bellway PLC on Wednesday reported surging pretax profit and revenue for the first half, boosted by a rise in completions on the back of resilient London property market, and said it would hike its dividend payout.
The FTSE 250-listed housebuilder said its pretax profit rose to GBP158.9 million in the half-year to the end of January, up from GBP103.8 million a year earlier.
Revenue increased to GBP831.2 million from GBP700.4 million, with completions increasing by 16% to 3,754 from 3,245. Bellway said the London housing market remains resilient, with revenue from the capital up 16% to GBP203.2 million. Bellway's order book sat at GBP1.12 billion on March 8, up from GBP829.5 million a year earlier.
Bellway said it spent GBP355 million on land opportunities in the half, up from GBP240 million a year earlier, increasing its land bank to 35,837 plots from 35,434 at the end of its 2014 financial year in July.
The rise in profit prompted the company to lift its interim dividend payout by 56% to 25 pence per share from 16 pence.
"Bellway has achieved another tremendous set of results, taking further market share by delivering a growing contribution to the supply of much needed new homes. Our strong balance sheet and operational capacity has facilitated significant investment in land over recent years. This investment, together with our expanding divisional structure, has allowed the group to respond to ongoing customer demand, resulting in record half year earnings and a further significant improvement in return on capital employed," said Chairman John Watson.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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