Housebuilder Barratt posts strong bounce in profit
Housebuilder Barratt Developments posted a strong bounce in profits this morning, up 159 per cent over the year to 30 June.
Investment in higher margin land and an increase in volumes helped to flatter profits over the period.
Group revenues jumped 14.1 per cent to £2.3bn, with completions of 12,637 units over the year.
Average selling prices were also up, to £180,500 from £178,300 last year.
Net debt nearly halved over the year to stand at £167.7m at the end of June.
Mark Clare, group chief executive of Barratt Developments, said that this year has seen “rapidly improving” performance across the group.
He added: “In the current financial year we expect to make further good progress, with more than half of completions forecast to be delivered from our more recently acquired higher margin land.”
The company and its rivals Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon are benefiting from a lack of available new homes in Britain and government schemes to spur the market, which have shored up demand despite a gloomy economic outlook and constrained mortgage lending.