Strong homes performance keep MJ Gleeson on track despite loss
Urban housing regeneration firm MJ Gleeson has reported strong performance from its homes division for the half-year.
The company registered an operating profit of £15.9m in this sector during the first half of the year 2019/20, up from £14m in the comparable six month period, a 13 per cent increase.
However, overall profit after tax slumped to £10.9m for the six months to 31 December 2019, down from £18.3m compared to the same period in 2018 .
“Demand remains strong, with January reservations per site up five per cent on last year. We see no signs of this abating,” said Dermot Gleeson, the company’s chairman.
Gleeson said the homes unit saw completions up 17.4 per cent to 811 units.
Dividend per share increased by 4.3 per cent from 11.5p to 12p.
The strategic land division however has had no sales, although Gleeson is optimistic this situation will soon change, meaning full year expectations are unchanged.
Shares in the company were up around 0.4 per cent in afternoon trading to 796p.