30th July 2014 – interim results
This leading house building group has produced excellent results for the first half of the year, as it has benefited from the recovery in the housing market in the UK. Revenues have risen by over 18% to £1.19bn, whilst pre-tax profits before exceptional items rose almost 64% to £178.4m. Earnings per share on the same basis rose by 59% to 4.3p and the dividend was increased by 9% to 0.24p. Net debt of £36.2m at the period end was significantly lower than a year earlier when it stood at £68.4m. During the period the group completed 5,766 homes, an 11% increase on the same period in 2013 whilst the average selling price rose by 10% to £206,000. These are clearly excellent results although there is probably more to come from the company. The group is to maintain its policy of returning excess cash to shareholders, following on from the payment of £49.7m last month – equivalent to 1.54p. The group’s strong performance means that it intends to return another £250m to shareholders in July 2015, a sum equivalent to 7.68p per share. A confident statement regarding prospects for the second half and beyond bodes well and the shares remain a BUY.