“Robust” Persimmon bounces back after Brexit with profit jump

DESPITE feeling the short term effects of the Brexit decision as its share price dropped, Persimmon has had a strong half year with pre-tax profits on the up.

Group chief executive Jeff Fairburn said Persimmon’s “robust” performance for the half year to 30 June 2016 was down to “controlled sustainable growth.”

The first six months of the year saw revenue jump 12% to £1.49bn, with pre-tax profits up 29% to £352.3m.

Average selling prices for a Persimmon home rose by 6% to £206,334 and for its Charles Church brand, this number rose by 16% to £317,827.

Over the six months, York-based Persimmon has also opened sites in Cornwall, Teesside, Castle Bromwich and Northern Scotland. It said these sites would enable the development of 1,600 units, and create 6,500 jobs.

It said the news of the Brexit decision was “quickly digested” by customers and that it was confident for the future.

Jeff Fairburn, group chief executive, said: “While the result of the EU Referendum has created increased economic uncertainty, customer interest since then has been robust with visitor numbers to our sites around 20% ahead year on year. Our private sale reservation rate since 1 July is currently 17% ahead of the same period last year. The Group is now trading through the traditionally slower summer weeks but customer demand remains encouraging and we anticipate a good autumn sales season.”

“We are confident that our long term strategic focus will continue to deliver strong returns for our shareholders.”

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