Bovis Homes (LSE: BVS) publishes upbeat interim results.
Bovis Homes (LSE: BVS) rallied 17p, or 4%, to 510p in early London trading after the house builder published its half-year results.
Bovis reported six-month sales up 27% to £170 million and profits before tax up 100% to £16 million. The overall performance was produced by selling 944 homes for an average £164,400, plus receiving £4 million from the sale of two potential building sites.
The dividend was lifted 100% to 3p per share.
David Ritchie, chief executive of Bovis, said:
"The Group has delivered a strong performance during the first half of 2012 with profit before tax doubling against the backdrop of stable, but challenging, market conditions. This increase has been delivered through the compound positive effect of increased volumes, improved average sales price and stronger profit margins."
"As a result of a greater number of active sales outlets with an increasing proportion of new, more profitable sites, the Group's profits will, subject to stable market conditions, continue to increase significantly in the second half of 2012, in line with the Group's expectations."
Bovis added that its "robust" trading had continued into the second half, with private reservations up 19% for the year to date. The FTSE 250 member also claimed average unit sale prices for 2012 were likely to be 6% higher, with the full-year operating margin to rise from 10% to 12%.
Prior to today's results, City analysts anticipated earnings of 27p per share and a 7p per share dividend for 2012. With the shares at 510p, those projections equate to a P/E of 19 and a yield of 1.4%.
At present, the balance sheet may hold greater value. This morning's figures revealed net assets at £732 million or 547p per share, with the books backed by net cash of £22 million.
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> Maynard does not own any share mentioned in this article.
