Bovis Homes expects to gain planning consent for about 9,000 strategic plots by 2006, enabling the housebuilding group to open new sales regions.
It reported better-than-expected interim pretax profits up from £46m to £67.2m on turnover up from £190.6m to £271.7m.
The company said it was still on track to reach ambitious growth targets despite the high price of land and slowdown in the market. It praised the Bank of England for taking the steam out of the housing market but warned against raising interest rates much more. Numis Securities lifted its price target from 618p to 645p and reiterated its “buy” recommendation. The shares climbed 9.5p to 566p.
References: Financial Times 07/09/04 page 24 (Lombard), page 25, The Guardian 07/09/04 page 17, The Times (Compact) 07/09/04 page 38 (Global Business Briefing), page 39 (Results in Brief), page 42
