Bovis Homes expecting improvements

Housebuilder Bovis Homes expects to deliver further improvements to investors after strong trading in 2011 enabled it to post a 19 percent increase in private home reservations.

Bovis said revenue during the first half of 2011 was up 16 percent to £134 million, with operating profit at £10 million and an operating margin of 7.5 percent, from £4.8 million pounds in the first half of 2010 and an operating margin of 4.2 percent.

The group's pretax profit rose to £8.1 million, from 3.5 million in the same period last year.

"The group has delivered a strong performance during the first half of 2011 with profit before tax more than doubling, against the backdrop of stable, but challenging, market conditions," Chief Executive David Ritchie said.

"With the progressive, sustainable improvement in the group's profits and the board's confidence in the group's growth strategy, an interim dividend of 1.5 pence has been declared."

The group said it was confident that, assuming current market conditions continued, it could increase its output capacity in order to grow volumes and profit margins, whilst controlling capital employed and thus delivering further material improvements in returns to shareholders.