Housebuilder Bovis Homes Group reports first half profits rose 15 per cent to £61.7 million as the group delivered a “record” number of homes.
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Releasing its results for H1 2016, Bovis said legal completions of new homes were up 5% at 1,601 on H1 2015. The group reported 90% of planned home sales for 2016 year.
Ricthie said it was too early to accurately assess the impact of the Brexit vote or the Bank of England’s monetary response on the United Kingdom housing market.
The dividend now stands at 15p per share, up from 13.7p previous year. “Our robust balance sheet, with debt lower than a year ago, means that we are well positioned to continue to take advantage of prime land opportunities at potentially higher returns. We remain confident of our ability to trade well across these sites delivering strong returns on capital”. However, he added: “The underlying market fundamentals for United Kingdom housing remain positive”.
Rightmove said June’s Brexit vote had knocked sentiment, although it added that the month-on-month decline in asking prices was in line with the traditional summer lull.
Prices in the capital fell by a monthly 2.6 percent between July 10 and August 6, according to property website Rightmove, the largest drop of any region.
Meanwhile, the latest Markit/CIPS construction purchasing managers’ index (PMI) showed that the construction industry recorded its fastest fall since June 2009, hitting 45.9 in July, down slightly from 46 in June but above economists’ expectations of 44.
‘But shareholders are not convinced and Bovis is still trading below book value.
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Bovis, which builds three-quarters of its homes in the south of England, outside London, added that it was too early to judge the impact of the European Union referendum on the United Kingdom housing market. This could be an indicator that tougher times lie ahead for Bovis’.
