Bellway has returned a £19 million pre-tax profit in the six months to January 31st 2010, a significant improvement on a loss of £48.6 million in the same period last year.
In a trading update today (March 24) the housebuilder said that its sales rate increased 11.6% to 2,247 homes over the period. The company reported an operating margin of 6.1% and a net cash position of £60.9 million.
The company has continued to pay dividends during the downturn and increased the payment by 10% to 3.3p.
Bellway’s order book currently stands at £435.4 million against last year’s £370 million which includes over 900 homes for 2010/2011.
The company spent £76 million on land and land creditors over the half year, with a further 3,250 plots “being progressed, albeit more slowly than anticipated to ownership.” The housebuilder noted “landowners’ aspirations and the planning process” as barriers to quick delivery.
Bellway expressed concerns over ! mortgage availability, unemployment and the upcoming election but said it was concentrating “in the coming months on land acquisition and selectively increasing work in progress, with a particular emphasis on the southern divisions where the market appears to be in a more advanced state of recovery.”
Source: Housebuilder
See Also: Property News (6711), Bellway Homes (3)
Date Published: 24 March 2010
Related News
