Housebuilder Wilson Bowden reported a 30% rise in half-year profits this morning and said it was optimistic for the rest of the year.
Pretax profits for the six months to 30 June was £76.6m against £58.8m previously. Analysts had expected profits of about £66-68m. Turnover rose 28% to £450.4m.
Wilson Bowden said underlying demand for new homes was strong, with its housing order book up 14% by unit and 39% by value.
During the second half of the year the group expects to spend around £150m on land, taking the year’s total to more than £320m, it said.
However, the company said that it did not expect to see improvements in the commercial property market until well into 2003 and that its Wilson Bowden Developments arm would be hard pressed to match last year’s performance.
EGi News 28/08/02
