Home prices drive 13% rise in Bellway housing revenues

House builder Bellway on Tuesday reported a 13% rise in annual housing revenue rose, driven by strong home prices which offset pressure from higher costs.

Housing revenue for the year to July 31 rose to more than £3.5bn. Completions rose 10.5% to a record 11,198 homes at an average selling price of £314,400, compared with £306,479 last year.

“Upward pressure on build costs has persisted across the sector throughout the year, with rising energy prices, global supply chain constraints and increasing wage costs all contributing to the rise. Strong commercial disciplines, forward buying and value engineering initiatives have helped to mitigate these upward cost pressures which overall have been offset by house price inflation,” the company said.

“The availability of materials has gradually improved through the second half of the financial year and, although we continue to experience ad hoc shortages at a regional level, these are being well-managed.”

Reporting by Frank Prenesti at Sharecast.com