Housebuilder Bovis hunts for growth in south as profits rise
HOUSEBUILDER Bovis Homes reported a 74 per cent jump in profit yesterday and predicted a strong 2012 from its focus on the relatively buoyant market for family homes in the affluent south of England.
“It was a great year in terms of driving profitability back through the business … and we are expecting a stable market to drive our profitability significantly forward in 2012,” chief executive David Ritchie said.
“We are expecting to see yet again the positive compound effect of a greater number of houses sold at a higher average selling price than the previous year and at a stronger margin.”
Bovis said it expected to have 75 per cent of its sales outlets in the south by the end of 2012, compared with 60 per cent at the beginning of the year.
The company predicted market conditions would still be tough in 2012 because of continued economic uncertainty in Britain but said it hoped a new government-backed mortgage indemnity scheme would help more first-time buyers get on the property ladder.
It reported a pre-tax profit of £32.1m in 2011, up from £18.5m a year earlier and narrowly beating a firm-supplied analyst poll of £31.1m.