Galliford Try housebuilding expansion plans on track

15th Sep 2010 07:18

Housebuilding and construction group Galliford Try reported a rise in full year profit and fall in revenue as housing sales and prices showed an element of recovery.Pre-tax pre exceptional profit rose to £26.1m for the year ended 31 June from £24.5m the year before. Group revenue fell to £1.2bn from £1.5bn before.Galliford said its housebuilding expansion plan was on track with 58% of the current land bank acquired at current market values. "With housing sales and prices showing an element of recovery and mortgage lending increasing from a very low base, we also saw the early signs of a reviving land market with a number of attractive land acquisition opportunities developing," the group said in a statement.CEO Greg Fitzgerald said, "We are on track to deliver the housebuilding expansion plan we set out at the time of the rights issue in September 2009. We have been encouraged by the level of sales and prices achieved since the start of our new financial year when set against the backdrop of the effect on consumer confidence of the current economic uncertainty.The group added the strength of its finances and the spread of its activities leaves it, subject to economic uncertainties, well positioned to deliver planned progress.The dividend has been increased 15% to 12.5p from 10.9p the last time.