Taylor Wimpey profits from slow but steady progress
HOUSE builder Taylor Wimpey said first half profits rose 32 per cent as it benefited from a stable housing market and cutting down its costs following the economic crisis.
Britain’s second largest builder by market value said pre-tax profit in the year to June was £28.9m against a loss of £2.3m in the same period last year. Operating profit stood at £67.2m compared with £51.1m last year.
Chief executive Pete Redfern said the company had gone through a “transformational six months” after selling its North American business to concentrate on it UK investments and going through a second refinancing.
Redfern said: “Although there is ongoing uncertainty in the wider economic environment, current conditions in the housing market remain stable.”
He expects the stability to continue for the rest of the year but identified the scarcity of mortgages as the biggest constraint.
The group completed 4,707 homes in the first half against 4,804 homes in the same period last year, as it chases margins over volumes. The average selling price remained flat at £168,000 in the same period last year.
Shares in Taylor Wimpey closed down 2.34 per cent at 33.74p, valuing the company at £1.1bn.