Barratt reports slight profit rise, lifts FY completions forecast, divi

Housebuilder Barratt Developments reported a slight rise in interim profits and lifted its dividend despite an 11% fall in completions and weaker revenue.

The company posted pre-tax profit of £432.6m for the six months to December 31, up 0.6%. It completed 8,067 homes during the period. Revenue fell 9.9% to £2.2bn and the dividend was lifted by almost half to 11.2p a share.

Barratt lifted guidance for full-year completions to 18,000 - 18,250 from 17,750 - 18,000.

It added that net private reservations per active outlet per average week for January were 0.90, 16.9% above the 0.77 rate in the same period in 2021, reflecting continued strong demand.

Total forward sales at January 30 were 15,736 homes, up from 14,289 at a value of £4.1bn, up from 11,362.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said Barratt had done "a decent job of managing the impact of rising build costs with a limited impact on profitability so far", but cautioned that market growth "is likely to slow at some point".

“The cost of living crisis will impact consumer demand, which in turn has strong links to the housing market, and rising interest rates will also impact the cost of mortgages," he said.

“All Barratt can do is ensure it is on the firmest foundations possible when the downturn does come. Concluding the competition authorities’ probe into its sale of leasehold properties, as some of its rivals have already done, would certainly be welcomed by the markets.”