Fort the six months to 31st January 2015 Bellway generated revenues of 拢831.2m with pre-tax profit of 拢158.9m. (For the same period a year before it made 拢103.8m profit on 拢700.4m revenues.)
Operating margin improved from 15.6% to 19.9%.
New home completions were up nearly 16% to 3,754 (2014: 3,245).
Chairman John Watson said: "Bellway has achieved another tremendous set of results, taking further market share by delivering a growing contribution to the supply of much needed new homes.聽 Our strong balance sheet and operational capacity has facilitated significant investment in land over recent years.聽 This investment, together with our expanding divisional structure, has allowed the group to respond to ongoing customer demand, resulting in record half year earnings and a further significant improvement in return on capital employed.
Chief executive Ted Ayres said that the housing market in the north was now moving more quickly than the south, although London still accounts for a quarter of the business.
鈥淭he north has shown particular strength, with an increase of 23.6% in completions to 1,822 (2014: 1,474), resulting primarily from land investment over recent years,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he average selling price in the north has risen by 5.8% to 拢187,777 (2014: 拢177,526), a reflection of the investment in higher value, primary locations where demand is resilient.鈥�
He continued: 鈥淭he south has also performed well with the number of completions rising by 9.1% to 1,932 (2014: 1,771).聽 The average selling price in the south has risen by 3.4% to 拢249,112 (2014: 拢240,823), influenced by strong demand and pricing improvements in London. London continues to form an important part of Bellway's output, with revenue of 拢203.2m arising from this region (2014: 拢174.6 million), representing 24.7% of total housing revenue.鈥�
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