Galliford Try profit up on housebuilding demand
Housebuilding and construction company Galliford Try posted a 34% rise in full-year adjusted pretax profit, beating own estimates, as it benefited from its focus on southern England.
The company, which was founded by W S Try in 1908 as a construction business carrying out work in west London, said it was confident of further growth going forward, and raised its full-year dividend by 28% to 16 pence.
"We exceeded our profit expectations during the year as growth in housebuilding accelerated in the second half, testimony to our strategic focus on southern England. We also maintained a higher-than-anticipated margin in construction," Chief Executive Greg Fitzgerald said.
July-June pretax profit before exceptional items came in at £35.1 million, compared with £26.1 million last year. Revenue grew 5% to £1.28 billion.
Housebuilding sales grew 29% to £388.5 million, while construction revenue was marginally up at £936.9 million.
In July, UK housebuilders said they saw signs that the housing market was proving more resilient than many feared due partly to pent up demand from people who need to move house despite mortgages still being tough to obtain.
