14th May 2014 08:22
LONDON (Alliance News) - Housebuilding and construction group Galliford Try PLC Wednesday said it has made a strong start to 2014 and expects to report pretax profit for its full year above current analysts' consensus of GBP89.7 million and not less than GBP92.0 million.
The company's financial year ends June 30.
Galliford said Linden Homes, its housebuilding arm, experienced strong levels of reservations during the spring selling season, with sales prices improving above management expectations. The company said Linden Homes' margin enhancement programme is progressing and the division has made further progress at the operating margin level.
Commenting on 2014 to date, the firm said its construction business saw its order book grow to GBP1.3 billion at the period end, compared with GBP1.25 billion at December 31. Galliford said the division is winning work with "appropriate" margin and inflation protection.
However, Galliford said all its businesses continue to experience challenging production conditions with supply of both labour and materials constrained by strong demand. The firm said these conditions are stabilising, and "we continue to manage them pro-actively."
Overall, the company said year-end net debt is expected to increase compared with June 2013, reflecting higher investment in land, in line with its strategy to growth the business.
Galliford Try shares were quoted 2.5% up at 1,212.00 pence Wednesday morning.
By Anthony Tshibangu; [email protected]; @AnthonyAllNews
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