Barratt Developments on track despite lower sales

12th Nov 2014 08:12

Housebuilder Barratt Developments said it remains on track to hit its full-year targets, though sales rates have fallen due to a more "stable" UK housing market.Barratt has seen 0.63 net private reservations per active site per week since the start of the financial year (1 July), down from 0.71 at the same time last year.The group explained that last year's results were boosted by an "exceptionally high" sales rate after the launch of Help to Buy in April 2013.Nevertheless, the company said it is confident of delivering its target for 15,000 completions in the year ending June 2015, with an additional 700 completions from joint ventures. Total completions in the previous financial year totalled 14,838.Market conditions are said to be "robust", with high levels of customer interest and good demand across the country, Barratt said."We are on track to see another significant improvement in performance by continuing to focus on delivering high quality, well designed homes in places where people want to live," said chief executive Mark Clare."Our disciplined approach to investment in new sites is underpinning our confidence that by [fiscal year ending 2017] we can deliver at least a 20% gross margin and a minimum return on capital of 25%."The stock was broadly flat at 425p in early deals on Wednesday.