28th Feb 2019 09:27
LONDON (Alliance News) - Bovis Homes Group PLC on Thursday declared a higher dividend for 2018, as profit for the year reached record levels on solid revenue growth.
For the recent year, the FTSE 250-listed housebuilder reported a record pretax profit of GBP168.1 million, up 47% from GBP114.0 million the year before.
Revenue grew by 3.2% to GBP1.06 billion from GBP1.03 billion in 2017. Total completions increased by 3% to 3,759 units from the prior year, with affordable home completions reaching 1,192 units, making up 32% of Bovis Homes's total builds.
The average selling price for 2018 increased marginally to GBP273,200 from GBP272,400 in 2017.
Bovis Homes said it has a total land bank including joint ventures of 17,328 plots as at December 31, up from 17,096 plots the same date the year before.
Bovis Homes declared a final dividend of 38.0 pence per share, bringing the total ordinary payout to 57.0p, up 20% from 47.5p for 2017.
In addition, the housebuilder paid a special dividend of 45 pence per share, or GBP60 million in total. This brings Bovis's total dividend for the year to 102.0 pence per share.
Bovis previous had said it intends to return surplus capital to shareholders via special dividends totalling GBP180.0 million, about 134.0p per share, in the three years to 2020.
Looking ahead, Bovis Homes said it had a strong performance in the first eight weeks of 2019 with a rate of 0.58 sales per site per week, up 16% from the same period in 2018. Also, its forward sales position is said to represent 48% of consensus 2019 revenue for the group.
"The group has made substantial progress operationally over the past 18 months delivering record profits and a step change in our operating margin. We have transformed the quality of our product and customer service and are delighted this is reflected in our four star housebuilder status for 2018," said Chief Executive Greg Fitzgerald.
Shares in Bovis Homes were up 0.6% at 1,070.50 pence on Thursday.
Related Shares:
Bovis Homes