Strong first half performance for homes developer
Listed house builder Persimmon has reported pre-tax profits of £480.1m in its half year results for the six months ended 30 June 2021, up from £292.4m the previous year.
In the same period total Group revenues climbed to £1.84bn from £1.19bn, with 7,406 new home completions compared to 4,900 completions in 2020.
The new home average selling price also rose – up to £236,199 compared to £225,066 in 2020.
York-headquartered Persimmon says it brought 10,272 plots into the business during the period and now has good forward sales of £2.23bn, including legal completions in the second half so far.
It adds it is managing to maintain a strong balance sheet with healthy levels of liquidity.
Dean Finch
Dean Finch, Group chief executive, said: “Persimmon’s first half performance has been robust. In particular, I am pleased we have delivered strong growth in legal completions whilst also achieving higher levels of build quality and customer satisfaction.
“We made good progress in the land market in the period, bringing over 10,000 plots of high quality land into the business, achieving good visibility of new outlet openings and providing momentum for our future growth.
“With c. 85 new outlets opening in the second half of the current year, we are improving availability and choice for our customers.
“We’re managing the balance of inflationary pressures well and currently anticipate our industry leading returns will remain resilient.
“Our forward sales position is c. 9% ahead of the same point in 2019, with our cumulative private sales rate over 20% above that of 2019 for the year to date.
“We anticipate successfully delivering c. 10% growth in sales completions this year.”
