2014 was also Bovis Homes Group's biggest year for land investment, spending 拢340m to add 7,300 plots on 42 sites to the consented land bank (2013: 3,737 plots on 27 sites at a cost of 拢225m).
For the financial year ended 31st December 2014, Bovis Homes Group reported revenue up 46% to 拢809.4m (2013: 拢556.0m). Pre-tax profit was up 69% to 拢133.5m (2013: 拢78.8m).
The net profit margin improved from 14.9% in 2013 to 17.0% in 2014.
The number of legal completions was up +29% to a company record high of 3,635 (2013: 2,813) and the average sales price was 拢216,600 (2013: 拢195,100).
Chief executive David Ritchie said: "With a record number of homes delivered and stronger sales prices and profit margins, profit before tax has increased by 69%.聽 We have also achieved our return on capital employed target for 2014 and are confident in our ability to deliver a further improvement in return on capital employed in 2015.
"We laid out our strategic ambitions for the group at the time of our half-year results.聽 This plan envisages the business, in a stable housing market, delivering sustainable growth over the next few years to annual volumes of between 5,000 and 6,000 new homes.聽 We are on track to deliver this strategic plan, supported by record land investment in 2014 at the right point in the cycle.鈥�
Shareholders鈥欌�� reward is a 159% leap in dividends to 35 pence per share for 2014 and at least as much again in 2015.
Headcount at Bovis Homes increased from 771 employees to 928 during the year. In the build department, where staff turnover is most pronounced, a site manager training programme was set up during 2014, with the first trainees mostly coming from military backgrounds. More are planned, and the apprentice programme is being expanded in 2015 to increase the intake across the business.
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