Bellway expects to complete around 850 more units at the end of its current financial year compared to last year.
The house builder said that despite labour constraints remaining “a challenge,” it was set to improve on the 6,851 housing unit completions that it achieved in the year to July 31 2014.
Reporting on the period from February 1 to May 31 2015, Bellway said that its “strong trading performance” was expected to increase its full year operating margin for the year ending July 31 2015 by around 300 basis points to more than 20%, compared to the 17.2% of 2014.
The spring selling season had continued to be robust, the firm said, with the general election “having no noticeable effect on customer sentiment”. Bellway’s reservations during the February to end of May period rose almost 3% to an average of 182 per week against the strong comparable period in 2014.
The house builder also said it expected to achieve an average selling price “slightly in excess” of £220,000 against the £213,182 of the year ending July 31 2014.
Bellway’s forward order book as of May 31 2015 stood at £1,270 million, an increase in value of 22% against the same point in 2014. This represents 5,502 homes (2014: 5,002 homes).
Ted Ayres, Bellway’s group ceo, said: “Positive market conditions, implementation of our strategy for growth and a continuing focus on return on capital employed are allowing Bellway to deliver a further increase in volume and a significant rise in profitability.”
