Profit growth reflects continuing benefit of the Group's growth strategy:
19% growth in legal completions to 2,813 homes (2012: 2,355)
14% increase in average sales price to £195,100 (2012: £170,700), primarily due to mix of larger homes and a greater proportion of higher value southern sites
Operating profit margin increased to 14.9% (2012*: 13.3%)
Enhanced forward order book at end of 2013:
178% increase in private forward reservations to 692 homes (2012: 249)
26% increase in production in 2013 to 2,935 homes (2012: 2,322 homes)
Strong, geographically targeted investment in land during 2013:
3,737 plots on 27 sites added to the consented land bank during the year
Circa 2,800 plots on 12 sites legally contracted, awaiting satisfaction of conditions
Land bank of 14,638 consented plots at 31 December 2013, with potential gross profit of £727 million, calculated using current sales prices and current build costs
Planning approved on three major strategic projects at Witney, Winnersh and Bishops Stortford which will deliver, in aggregate, over 1,200 plots to consented land in the future
Positive current trading (to 21 February 2014)
468 private reservations achieved in first seven weeks of 2014 (2013: 285), an increase of 64%
1,875 cumulative sales achieved to 21 February 2014 for 2014 legal completion (2013: 1,064)
Advanced stage of agreement on two private rental sector ("PRS") transactions for circa 500 homes, of which approximately 250 would legally complete in 2014
Sales prices achieved to date circa 2% ahead of Group expectations
Circa 2,300 plots on nine sites added to the consented land bank during the first seven weeks of 2014, including a major investment in a new settlement at Sherford in Devon
Commenting, David Ritchie, the Chief Executive of Bovis Homes Group PLC said:
"The Group has a clear and robust growth strategy, which has enabled the delivery of an excellent performance in 2013, with strong growth in profit and return on capital employed. A rigorous focus on targeted land acquisition, together with tight management of costs and capital have enabled the Group to take full advantage of the more favourable market conditions to increase volumes, improve sales prices and strengthen margins.
Dividends
Given the ongoing material improvement in the Group's performance and the confidence of the Board in the continued delivery of the Group's strategy, the Board has proposed a 2013 final dividend of 9.5p per share. This dividend will be paid on 23 May 2014 to holders of ordinary shares on the register at the close of business on 28 March 2014. The dividend reinvestment plan gives shareholders the opportunity to reinvest their dividends in ordinary shares.
Combined with the interim dividend paid of 4.0p, the dividend for the full year totals 13.5p compared to a total of 9.0p paid in 2012, an increase of 50%. The Board expects to grow dividends progressively as earnings per share increase.
