Persimmon has said “good opportunities” remain in the UK housing market following the EU referendum, despite its share price falling by 36% since 23 June.
“It remains too soon to judge the effect that the result of the EU referendum will have on the UK new homes market,” the housebuilder said in a trading update ahead of its half-year results, which will be released on 23 August.
“We believe that market fundamentals remain strong, supported by long-term unfulfilled demand, and that the UK housing market will continue to provide good opportunities for those companies with the right strategic focus and the balance sheet strength to navigate future changes in trading conditions.”
In the six months to 30 June 2016 the group increased its revenues by 12% compared with the same period in the previous year to £1.5bn.
The group also increased its legal completion volumes by 6% to 7,238 new homes, with the average selling price of around £205,500 also up 6% on the previous year.
Persimmon said low borrowing costs and healthy labour market conditions continued to support consumer confidence through the first half of the year, with mortgage approvals for home purchases in the first quarter of 2016 up by 18% compared with 2015.
The housebuilder is currently working on 345 sites, of which 108 were started in the first six months of 2016. Construction is expected to start on a further 100 new sites in the second half of the year.
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