Barratt sales drop after lockdown frenzy
A frenzy of completions and sales during the stamp duty holiday has slowed for Britain’s biggest housebuilder Barratt.
In half-year results for the period to the end of December, Barratt reported a 11.1% drop in completions to some 8,067 homes, with revenue down 9.9% to £2.3bn.
Chief executive David Thomas cheered a “strong rebound in construction activity”, adding that Barratt is now on course to complete more than 18,000 homes this year, ahead of pre-Covid levels.
A frenzy of completions and sales during the stamp duty holiday has slowed for Britain’s biggest housebuilder Barratt.
In half-year results for the period to the end of December, Barratt reported a 11.1% drop in completions to some 8,067 homes, with revenue down 9.9% to £2.3bn.
Chief executive David Thomas cheered a “strong rebound in construction activity”, adding that Barratt is now on course to complete more than 18,000 homes this year, ahead of pre-Covid levels.
Barratt closed trading today up 1% at 633.4p. The FTSE 100 housebuilder was outpaced by FTSE 250 rival Bellway, which continued its bounce following a positive trading update yesterday, rising a further 2.8% to 2,990p.
In the six months ended January, Bellway completed 5,694 new homes, just ahead of the 5,656 in the same period in 2021 and a new record for the group. Revenue is expected to grow by 3% to £1.7bn.
Jason Honeyman, chief executive at Bellway, said the builder was on track to hit target growth of 10% this year, with completions rising to 12,200 in FY23.
Goodbody analyst Shane Carberry said an estimated 7% rise in build costs posed a challenge for builders, alongside the cladding crisis. Carberry highlighted that Bellway has set aside £165m for legacy building safety issues.
Overall the FTSE 100 rose 1% to 7,643 and the FTSE 250 climbed 1.8% to 22,184.
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