Highlights
Financial Highlights
|
|
Half year ended 31 January 2013 |
Half year ended 31 January 2012 |
Movement |
|
Revenue |
£502.5m |
£458.6m |
+9.6% |
|
Gross profit |
£89.7m |
£69.9m |
+28.3% |
|
Gross margin |
17.9% |
15.2% |
+270 ppts |
|
Operating profit |
£64.4m |
£46.4m |
+38.8% |
|
Operating margin |
12.8% |
10.1% |
+270 ppts |
|
Profit before taxation |
£59.9m |
£40.6m |
+47.5% |
|
Earnings per share |
37.9p |
25.2p |
+50.4% |
|
Dividend per share |
9.0p |
6.0p |
+50.0% |
|
Return on capital employed |
10.5% |
8.4% |
+210 ppts |
Net asset value per share increased to 957p (31 July 2012 - 933p)
Operational Highlights
2,597 homes sold (2012 - 2,455) - up 5.8%
Average selling price increased to £187,426 (2012 - £182,753) - up 2.6%
Land investment increased to £145 million (2012 - £105 million)
Land bank increased to 32,025 plots (31 July 2012 - 31,136 plots)
Low net bank debt of £75.4 million representing gearing of only 6.5%
94% of current full year volume target reserved or legally completed
Commenting on the results, Chairman, John Watson, said:
"The Group has delivered another strong set of results, having achieved further growth in volume, average selling price and operating margin and this has contributed to an improvement in return on capital employed.
"Earnings per share has grown by over 50% to 37.9p (2012 - 25.2p) and the Group's return on capital has improved to 10.5% (2012 - 8.4%). The net asset value per ordinary share has grown from 933p at 31 July 2012 to 957p at 31 January 2013, a new record for the Group.
Dividend
"I am pleased to announce that the interim dividend will be increased by 50% to 9.0p per ordinary share (2012 - 6.0p). The dividend will be paid on Monday 1 July 2013 to all ordinary shareholders on the Register of Members on Friday 24 May 2013. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday 22 May 2013.
"These results have delivered further value creation for shareholders through growth in net asset value, together with a continuation of progressive dividend payments."
