Barratt Developments has posted a pretax profit of £21.6m for the half-year ended 31 December, compared with a £4.6m loss at the same time last year.
In a trading update, the housebuilder said its revenues for the period rose by 8.6% to £952.8m, up on £877.6m for the same period in 2010. Its profit from operations was £61.1m – a 40.5% rise on the previous year.
Barratt said its recently acquired higher-margin land continues to be brought into production and is expected to contribute more than one-third of this year’s financial completions.
Its net debt, which has remained relatively level at £542.2m compared with a £537m net debt at 31 December 2010, is forecasted to be lower than previously expected, at around £350m at 30 June 2012.
The group also reported a strong second half with 246 private sales per week, up by 21.8% in the seven weeks to 19 February 2012. Private forward sales at 19 February were up by 24.3%.
