Southern focus helps Galliford Try beat expectations

14th Sep 2011 07:05

A focus on the resilient south of England helped the builder Galliford Try's profits for the year to 30 June come in ahead of expectations. Pre-tax profits came in at £35.1m, up from £26.1m the previous year and ahead of broker Peel Hunt's prediction of £34.8m. Revenues rose to £1.28bn from £1.22bn.The full-year dividend rises to 16p from 12.5p."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," said chief executive Greg Fitzgerald. "We also maintained a higher than anticipated margin in construction."Margins in the houseubuilding division increased to 8.1% from 5.6%, with the company achieving a margin of 9.2% in the second half. Margins in construction remained "robust" at 2.4%.Housebuilding revenues rose to £388.5m from £316m. Construction revenues were little changed, rising to £936.9m from £936.5m."Although the economic outlook in the UK remains uncertain, in the absence of a material effect on our markets we remain confident of delivering our planned progress," the company said.---RG