Vistry Group has exceeded expectations for its first half, with sales up 11% and predicted profit of £417m.
The housebuilder this morning issued an update on trading for the period from 1 January 2022 to 30 June 2022.
Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said: “The group has delivered an excellent first-half performance, significantly exceeding our expectations at the start of the year. Demand has been strong across all areas of the business and our forward sales positions further strengthened.”
Although “mindful of the wider economic uncertainties”, he expected “significant margin progression in the full year” with adjusted pretax profit at the top end of market forecasts, which would put it somewhere around £417m.
Vistry said price increases of 5% to 8% on its private units had more than offset cost increases caused by rising inflation or supply issues.
Like Persimmon earlier in the week, Vistry said the planning regime was “the single most significant constraint on the business”.
It said this was being felt due to “continuing capacity issues within local planning authorities”, as well as “the increasingly challenging political and regulatory environment around issues such as nutrient neutrality”.
It said it had responded by factoring in longer lead times.
Vistry’s weekly sales rate rose by 11% in H1, while completions increased to 3,219 from 3,126 for the first half of 2021.
Adjusted gross margins for the year are now expected to be ahead of Vistry’s 23% target.
Forward sales were up for housebuilding and partnerships by 16% to £2,144m.
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