Sales and profits soar at housebuilder Bellway
A stronger housing market, buoyed by the Government's Help to Buy scheme, has sent pre-tax profits at builder Bellway soaring 73.3% over the last six months, to £103.8 million, as its sold 25% more homes.
The company called its first half trading performance 'robust' as revenue rose 39.5% to a record of £701.1 million as it sold 3,245 homes.
Bellway's average selling price for its homes jumped 13.1% to £212,071.
The company has also spent £240 million on buying up more building land, giving it holdings now worth more than £1 billion. Forward orders by the beginning of March were up more than 60% to almost £830 million. It has also opened up new divisions in Manchester and the Thames Valley.
Among its West Midlands developments are New Woodside in Telford and The Alders in Wolverhampton.
The company said growth has been driven by the strength of the market in London and the South of England.
The strength of the business as the housing market bounces back was underlined by its bank debt - just £16.4 million.
In a boost to its investors, Bellway announced a 74.9% hike in its dividend payout to shareholders, up to 16p per share from 9p a year ago.
Chairman John Watson said today: ""Bellway has made significant progress in the six months ended January 31, 2014. These substantial improvements have been driven by growth in volume, average selling price and operating margin.
"The group's operational and balance sheet capacity for volume growth has allowed Bellway to respond positively to strong consumer demand.