Galliford Try shares gain following strong results
Shares in Galliford Try yesterday gained 1.1 per cent, after the construction and housebuilding firm posted strong first-half results.
Galliford reports a pre-tax profit, after exceptional items, of £6.4m in the six months to end December, compared with a loss of £37.5m in the same period in 2008.
Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said: “Against the backdrop of a more stable housing market we have made excellent progress with the first stage of our transformational housebuilding strategy for our southern-based business, bringing land acquisition opportunities with attractive potential returns to fruition.
The news prompted Arbuthnot Securities to repeat its “buy” rating on the stock.
“Housing has stabilised, albeit currently at low levels of activity, but should show attractive growth over the next few years and should take up the slack as public sector construction spend is inevitably squeezed,” Arbuthnot said in a note.
Galliford Try’s shares closed in London at 329p.