Housebuilder Persimmon (LON:PSN) said revenues were 27% higher at £776.6m in the half-year to end-June, while legal completions increased by 16% to 4,657 and average selling prices rose by 8.6% to £168,936. The group's underlying operating margin was 8% against 1.6% in 2009, while the underlying performance continued to be amongst the strongest in the sector. Reported pre-tax profit was £101.4m (2009: £9.8m) while underlying pre-tax profits swung to £39.4m from a loss of £16.7m in 2009. Persimmon restored its interim dividend at 3p per share. Net assets per share increased by 9.7% to 565.1p (30th June 2009: 515.1p).
The group reported continued strong cash generation: £185.6m cash generated from operations (2009: £152.8m), while net borrowings reduced to £122.1m (2009: £494.2m). Persimmon said strong liquidity had supported ongoing optimisation of the group's debt portfolio, including a reduction in its syndicated loan facility from £600m to £350m and the early repayment of over £100m of Senior Loan Notes. Forward sales at 24th August were c.£912m (December 2009: c.£638m) at similar margins to those achieved in the first half: c.95% sold up for the current year. Total land holdings were in line with December 2009 - owned & under control landbank of 58,957 plots - 4,263 plots added since December 2009, including 1,297 plots from its strategic land portfolio.
John White, Persimmon's chairman, said: "Overall, whilst we currently remain cautious, we are optimistic about the future of our business. We have a strong balance sheet, excellent cash generation, national coverage and an experienced management team."
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