Developer posts 68% growth in pre-tax profits
Sheffield-based developer Henry Boot posted an 11.9% increase in revenue and a 68% growth in pre-tax profits in the six months to June 30, it announced to the London Stock Exchange.
Chief executive Tim Roberts said it was one of the firm’s best half-yearly results.
The firm said the increase in revenue to £144.4 million was driven by completions and disposal of land, with strong performance of residential land sales and industrial development activity driving the growth in pre-tax profits.
Its construction segment achieved turnover of growth of 21.6%, to £66.5m.
“We have had one of our best ever first half years with materially rising profits and good progress achieved against our strategic targets,” said Roberts.
“Taking advantage of our three key markets we have made significant sales whilst being selective on purchases. This has allowed us to keep gearing low, despite continued investment in our high-quality committed development programme and our growing housebuilder, and at the same time increase our interim dividend by 10%.
“We have worked hard to do our best to adjust to supply restrictions, inflation and an increasingly complex planning system. This work, together with our committed team of people and the relatively high level of forward sales for 2023, see us well placed as we enter what seems yet another period of economic uncertainty.”
The firm has declared an interim dividend of 2.66p.
Henry Boot currently has a development pipeline worth £1.5 billion, with committed developments valued at £262 million and one million square feet of industrial and logistics development underway.
