25 August 2017 – interim results
The land, property and construction company has issued good first half results covering the six months to 30 June with pre-tax profit increasing by 8.7% to £22.6m with earnings per share being 10.1% higher at 13.1p. The interim dividend was raised by 12.0% to 2.80p to reflect the group’s confidence in the future. Despite the more uncertain economic and political climate the group continues to see a high level of demand for land and housing in the UK – eight land sales were concluded in the first half with another five sales set to complete in the second half already. Net debt at the period end was £62.2m for gearing of 26% although this is expected to reduce by the year end due to land and property sale receipts. We retain our recommendation of BUY.