Taylor Wimpey share price shoots up almost six per cent at the open as building firm says it has not been affected by Brexit
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said today that last month's Brexit vote had not made any difference to its trading, as it reported increased revenue and profit for the six months to 3 July.
The figures
The company's revenue was up 9.1 per cent to £1.46bn, from £1.24bn in the first half of last year.
Operating profit rose by 9.1 per cent as well, up to £279m from £256m, while profit before tax and exceptional items rose 12 per cent to £267m from £238m.
Earnings per share grew to 6.6p, up 13.8 per cent from the 5.8p reported last year.
Shares in the company went up by over five per cent in early trading today, although the stock still has some way to go to recover its pre-referendum position.
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Why it's interesting
Housebuilders have had a rough ride over the weeks since the UK voted to leave the EU – and in the immediate aftermath of the vote, Taylor Wimpey's stock lost a third of their value. But the group said before the referendum that it was "well equipped" to deal with any fallout – and that appears to have been borne out.
Today the company said "there has been no meaningful change to date" since the referendum, with trading during the last month at a "normal seasonal range". The firm did note that it is "still too early to assess what long term impact the EU Referendum result will have on the UK housing market".
What Taylor Wimpey said
"Since 24 June, the early forward confidence indicators among homebuyers, together with the continued competitive lending by mortgage providers, have been encouraging and support confidence in the resilience of the UK housing market," the company said in a statement.
"We are monitoring both our own internal measures of customer confidence and external data closely. Help to Buy has continued to be a differentiator for new build housing, and remains popular with our customers. Over the last month, the actions and commentary by the government, Bank of England and mortgage lenders demonstrate a commitment to housing supply and a recognition that there remains a fundamental imbalance between demand and supply in the UK."
In short
Despite sending its share price on a rollercoaster ride, Brexit was apparently barely even a blip for Taylor Wimpey.