6th Feb 2019 08:05
LONDON (Alliance News) - Blue-chip housebuilder Barratt Developments PLC on Wednesday said it has further extended its capital return plan to 2020, amid profit and revenue growth for the first half of its financial year.
Shares in the home builder were up 1.9% at 556.77 pence early Wednesday, among the best FTSE 100 performers.
For the six months to the end of December, total completions rose by 4.1% to 7,622 units from 7,324 units the year before, while the average selling price edged upwards to GBP282,000 from GBP281,000.
This was due to private homes in central London being completed at a higher prices, despite changes in the regional mix.
Pretax profit for the period rose by 19% to GBP408.0 million from GBP342.7 million the prior year, while revenue grew by 7.2% to GBP2.13 billion from GBP1.99 billion.
Barratt has declared an interim dividend of 9.6 pence per share, up from 8.6p the year before, which the company said represents one-third of the expected ordinary dividend for the year, meaning this should come in around 28.80p.
The housebuilder also said it has further extended its capital return plan, with the intention to make two GBP175 million special returns to shareholders for the 2019 and 2020 financial years.
The group has already paid GBP1.17 billion in total through the policy, and for the five years to 2020 is expected to pay GBP2.07 billion in total.
Commenting on recent trading, as at February 3, forward sales were GBP3.02 billion, up from GBP2.82 billion the same date the year before.
Based on market conditions, Barratt expects to grow its volume towards the lower end of its medium term target range for the year.
"The group has delivered a strong operational and financial performance across the half year. As Britain's largest housebuilder, we are helping to address the country's housing shortage by building high quality homes, growing volumes, creating jobs and supporting economic growth, whilst continuing to lead the industry in quality and customer service," said Chief Executive David Thomas.
"Whilst we continue to monitor market conditions closely, current trading is in line with our expectations and we are confident of delivering a good financial and operational performance in FY19," Thomas added.
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