Persimmon sounds positive note
HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon sounded a positive note on the economy this morning as it reported pre-tax profits of £101.4m for the first half of the year.
The figure represents a ten-fold increase on the company’s performance over the same period last year while underlying pre-tax profits of £39.4m is a major turnaround from the £16.7m loss recorded 12 months ago.
Revenues at the York-based company grew by 27% to £776m as legal completions on home purchases increased by 16%. Persimmon also managed to increase its average selling price by 8.6% despite ongoing fragility in the housing market.
Persimmon group chairman John White said: “Overall, whilst we currently remain cautious, we are optimistic about the future of our business.
“We have a strong balance sheet, excellent cash generation, national coverage and an experienced management team.”
Persimmon announced it would be restoring the interim dividend on the back of its improved performance and would be paying 3p per share.
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Dominic Harman managing director of Wolverhampton-based Persimmon Homes West Midlands, said: “After a period of strong sales in the spring followed by the traditional seasonal slowdown, we are encouraged to see the beginning of a steady increase in visitors to all of our developments. Current reservation levels are meeting our expectations to achieve local targets for the year end.
“Demand for our new homes still remains high and this has helped us achieve more legal completions than this time last year. Our particular focus on family homes is also working well, supporting local needs and enabling us to achieve the best selling prices for this type of new property.”
Over the first six months of 2010, Persimmon recorded an underlying operating margin of 8%, up from 1.6% in the same period last year and the strongest in the sector.
The company added more than 4,200 plots to its landbank since the end of last year and reduced net borrowings from £494.2m to £122.1m.
Earlier this year Persimmon announced a new joint venture to develop 2,000 homes on sites owned by regeneration specialist St Modwen.
