Steep drop in profits at housebuilding giant

Profits have almost halved at Coalville housebuilder Barratt after the firm’s fourth quarter was impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.

The company saw its profits slashed by 46% to almost £492m, while revenue dropped by 28% to just under £3.42bn.

The firm’s completed almost 30% fewer homes for the year ending 30 June.

David Thomas, chief executive of Barratt said: “While COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our results, our priority has been to keep our people safe, mitigate the effect of the pandemic on our business and be able to emerge from the crisis in a resilient position.

“Although uncertainties remain, all of our sites are operational, we are seeing very strong consumer demand and our robust financial position means we enter the new financial year with cautious optimism.

“We are now renewing our focus on our medium term targets, on leading the industry in quality and service and on supporting jobs and economic growth by building the homes the country needs.”