10th Feb 2016 07:49
LONDON (Alliance News) - Bellway PLC on Wednesday said it remains on target to increase volume growth by around 10% in its current financial year, supported by positive UK government initiatives, as it saw a 12% rise in housing completions in its first half.
The housebuilder said that it made 4,188 housing completions in the half year to end-January, up from 3,754 a year before.
Average selling price was up 17% to GBP257,000, from GBP219,343 in the previous period, which the company said was primarily as a result of the completion of a number of high-value London apartments, together with a smaller proportion of lower-value social housing completions.
Bellway said it has a substantial forward order book comprising of 4,434 homes, up from 4,213 homes a year before, with a value of GBP1.03 billion, up from GBP975 million.
This strong performance should help lead to a significant rise in housing revenue in the half year, the company said, which it expects to exceed GBP1.08 billion, up from GBP823.4 million a year before.
"We have achieved a strong performance for the half year to 31 January 2016, delivering a further increase in both volume and average selling price, which should result in a substantial rise in earnings. We have made a significant investment in land at attractive rates of return to secure future growth and this, together with the positive market conditions and government support for new housing, should lead to further value creation for our shareholders," said Chief Executive Ted Ayres in a statement.
Bellway will report its interim results on March 22.
By Hana Stewart-Smith; [email protected]; @HanaSSAllNews
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