|
contents | business | |||||||||
| Bovis Homes reports 10 % rise in first-half pre-tax profits Britain's fifth biggest housebuilder Bovis Homes announced its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2007. Kent-based company achieved a pre-tax profit of £58.4 million as compared to £53.1 million in the same period in 2006. Basic earnings per share improved by 8.9% to 34.2p as compared with 31.4p in the prior first half. At £259.9 million, total Bovis revenue grew by 3.8% (2006: £250.5 million). Within this, the volume of legal completions was maintained, with 1,256 homes legally completed, as compared to 1,262 homes in the same half in the previous year. Of these, 13% or 164 units arose from social housing; a slightly higher proportion than that seen in 2006, where 141 units or 11% arose from social housing. The group's average sales price for the first half of 2007 was £189,600 compared to £188,700 for the comparable six months of 2006, representing a 0.5% year over year increase. This increase has arisen as a result of pricing gains on a square-footage basis, with the average sales price per square foot growing by 3.8%. Offsetting this, and as a result of an increase in the selling mix of smaller one and two bedroom homes, the average size of homes sold reduced to 995 square feet, from the previous year's first half average of 1,028 square feet, reflecting the group's successful transition to selling good quality, mid-market homes. Land sales totalled £19.1 million as compared to £10.2 million in the first half of 2006, demonstrating both the ongoing strength in the land market, and the weighting of planned land sales to the first half in 2007. Bovis was able to hold its operating margin broadly in line in the first half of 2007, as compared to the same period in 2006, with a margin of 22.5% as compared to 22.7%. The interim dividend of the company will amount to 17.5p net per share, an increase of 75% over 2006's interim dividend of 10.0p. write your comments about the article :: © 2007 Construction News :: home page |