Housebuilder Bellway Homes has reported a solid performance in its interim results for the six months to the end of January, with revenue up 6.3% to £1.52bn and housing completions up 2.7% to 4,702.
Its underlying pre-tax profits edged up to £150.9m, from the previous year’s £150.2m.
Of the homes completed, 3,702 were private homes, up from 3,617 in the same period last year, with the remaining 1,000 being social housing, up from 960.
Last month, the group said it expected full year completions to total around 9,200 homes, up from the previous year’s 8,749.
The group’s underlying basic earnings per share also edged up year on year from 90.3p to 91.2p.
During the period, the group paid £15.4m to the Competition and Markets Authority, alongside payments from other major housebuilders, to settle an investigation into information sharing.
Chief executive Jason Honeyman said the group delivered a “robust performance in a challenging market”.
He added: “While our industry continues to face several headwinds, we have seen an improvement in customer demand and reservations since the start of the new calendar year.
“The conflict in the Middle East heightens the risk of both inflationary cost pressures and an impact to customer demand and we have already seen volatility return to the mortgage market.
“Notwithstanding this, I am confident that our self-help and drive for capital efficiency will help mitigate the impact on our strategy to increase cash generation and shareholder returns.”
Julie Palmer, managing partner at consultancy BTG, said the group has “experienced a solid year of slow, yet steady progress”, much like many of its housebuilding peers.
“It has completed more homes and been able to receive promising prices for those houses, building a strong foundation through the winter and even starting off the year strong enough to improve its expectations of the coming year,” she added.
“However, just like its peers, it will be constantly analysing the changing climate. The prospects of its buyers, suppliers and investors are all weighed down with the risk of rising rates and inflation triggered by global events outside their control.
“It is because of this that the leadership will be looking to understand how they can operate within the conditions now set; that will be the tricky part.”
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