Bellway on track to pass 10,000 home mark as H1 profits rise

Housebuilder Bellway said it was on track to build more than 10,000 homes in a year for the first time as half year pre-tax profits rose 16.6% to £288.7m.

Volume growth of 6.3% to 4,741 homes, together with average selling price growth of 7.7% to £275,945 drove an increase in operating profit to £294.2m from £252.6m.

The interim dividend was lifted 28% to 48p a share.

Bellway said its forward order book at March 11 was 7.7% ahead at £1.52bn, made up of 5,485 homes.

Chief executive John Watson said the government's 'Help to Buy' scheme continued to be "an important selling tool", with buyers using it in 39% of Bellway completions.

He added that despite cross-party political support for the construction of new homes and increased output across the industry, there was still a shortage of "good quality housing, set in desirable locations".

"In the context of these market conditions, demand for Bellway product remains resilient, with customer confidence seemingly unaffected by the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the forthcoming exit from the EU," he said.

"The underlying pricing environment is generally positive, with most selling outlets across the group able to report moderate pricing gains over the past six months. Reservations, net of cancellations, have averaged 178 per week, an increase of 7.2% compared to the same period last year and the cancellation rate remains low at under 11% (2017 - under 12%), again reflecting underlying customer confidence."