Bovis puts down solid foundations
BOVIS Homes, tipped as a likely takeover prospect, today insisted the housing market was in good shape after delivering a 9% rise in sales.
Chief executive Malcolm Harris said 'high levels of employment, continuing low interest rates and an imbalance between supply and demand should support a healthy housing market in respect of the sector and locations in which the group operates'.
His comments followed full-year figures yesterday from Taylor Woodrow showing a 25% fall in reservations.
Harris's trading update on the year to the end of December, ahead of publication of figures in March, showed Bovis is now expected to have sold around 2,580 houses and flats, up from 2,364 completions the year before.
The sales figures are slightly ahead of market expectations after Bovis warned in November that it would fall short of its previous forecast of 10% growth. Analysts at Arbuthnot had pencilled in around 80 fewer units being sold after the warning.
Profits are expected to be 'broadly in line' with market expectations, Harris added, after the average price of a Bovis home increased to £198,000 from £185,000 in 2003.
Earnings expectations in Britain's construction industry are at a five-year high after the number of quantity surveyors reporting a rise in building work outweighed those noting a decline by 21%.
Strong investor demand for commercial property is causing the price of finished buildings to soar, more than compensating for the continued rising cost of materials.
