13th Jul 2016 06:13
LONDON (Alliance News) - FTSE 100-listed housebuilder Barratt Developments PLC on Wednesday said it expects to post a 20% increase in pretax profit for its recently ended financial year, on rises in both sales volume and the prices of those houses sold, as it said it was "too early" to assess the impact of the UK's vote to leave the European Union.
Barratt said it expects to post a pretax profit of GBP680.0 million for the year ended June 30, a 20% increase from the GBP565.5 million reported a year earlier, after its total completions for the year rose 5.3% to 17,319 from 16,447 and the average selling price of these rose 10.6% to GBP260,000 from GBP235,000.
The housebuilder said it has traded well throughout the year, with good consumer demand seen across its regions, although it noted some increased uncertainty in the higher-value London market.
Barratt said that, during the year, the mortgage market remained positive, with increased competition amongst lenders and new market entrants resulting in "good availability of attractive mortgage finance" for its customers.
The company noted that forward sales, including joint ventures, fell slightly, by 0.5% to GBP1.76 billion from GBP1.77 billion, and said it was "mindful" of the greater uncertainty facing the UK economy following the EU referendum.
"We have delivered another strong performance for the year. The disciplined growth in completion volumes reflects the strength of our sector leading build and sales teams," said Chief Executive David Thomas.
"Following the EU referendum, it is too early to say what the impact of the uncertainty facing the UK economy will be. The sector continues to receive focused government support, mortgage availability is good and there remains an undersupply of new homes. With a strong balance sheet and forward order book, and industry leading quality and customer service, we remain confident in the positive fundamentals of both the housing sector and our business," Thomas added.
By Hannah Boland; [email protected]; @Hannaheboland
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