nice starting point..

I have.

Crack on then, won't take you long to switch logons back to Hlyeo.

I dont hold.

Oh dear, poor you.

Don't worry about cracking a fingernail, I'll ask Ian.

Please do pat.

Good grief, you've blown your chance to make your first useful contribution to AM - gutted for you.

Me or hlyeo..?

If it makes you happy, pat.

lol.

Trading Statement.

Highlights
Group revenues of c. 875m, in-line with prior year equivalent period, with total co mpletions of 4,832 units (Note 1)


Average selling price ("ASP") against the prior year equivalent period increased by c. 6% to 176k, with private ASP increasing by c. 11% to 192k, driven by changes in mix. Underlying selling prices remained stable during the period


Significant improvement in operating profit with operating margin increasing to around 5% in the period, up from 2.4% (Note 2) in the prior year equivalent period


Net debt lower than expectations at c. 540m, with full year guidance maintained at 400m to 450m


Forward sales as at 31 December 2010 in-line with the prior year at 645.7m

BDEV Citigroup: downgraded to hold from buy, tp cut to 135 from 170

Interim Management Statement.

Highlights

Sales rates have returned to more normal levels with net private reservations per active site per week during the period of 0.53 (2010: 0.56), significantly ahead of the first half (0.39)

We have continued to see an increase in private average selling prices, up by c. 4% on the prior year equivalent period due to changes in mix

We are on track to deliver a substantial improvement in operating profit (Note 1) in both the second half and the full financial year, driven by new higher margin sites and a continued focus on tight cost control

The Group has agreed its debt refinancing which provides around 1 billion of committed facilities to May 2015, and will reduce the effective cost of finance going forward

Questor in the Telegraph today:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/questor/8507581/Questor-share-tip-Barratt-is-a-play-on-rising-margins.html

UBS [HB] : Reiterated buy - TP reiterated 135

Deutsche: Reiterated buy - TP 152

JPMorgan: Overweight - TP cut to 174 from 210

keep an eye

now at 109.20p, the shares have been left behind lately on the rise now, sector strong for the last couple days againts the market.

Trading Update.

Highlights



Second half total completions in line with the prior year equivalent period, delivering total completions for the full year of 11,171 (2010: 11,377)

Increase in private average selling price of c. 5% in the second half to c. 204k (H2 2010: 195k), driven by changes in mix

Significant improvement in operating profitability with operating margin increasing to c. 7.8% (H2 2010: 5.9%) in the second half

The Group returns to profitability before tax and exceptional refinancing costs for the full year

Net debt of c. 330m (2010: 366.9m) at 30 June, lower than guidance

Refinancing package in place providing the Group with c. 1 billion of committed facilities for 4 years

Continuing to pursue joint venture and partnership opportunities and recently signed second major investment with London & Quadrant for a private residential development adjacent to Arsenal's Emirates stadium

Questor (Telegraph) today:


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/questor/8638604/Questor-share-tip-Barratts-margin-plan-is-built-on-strong-foundations.html

BDEV

from the TELEGRAPH - 7:00AM - 15 Jul 2011

Questor share tip: Barratt's margin plan is built on strong foundations
One the whole, yesterday's update from house builder Barratt Developments was good. However, the shares fell 6pc as the market fretted about the future. Questor thinks the falls were overdone.

Barratt Developments
105.9p -5.3
Questor says BUY

Barratt Developments
Barratt sold 1.8pc fewer homes in its last financial year, which ended in June, because it is focusing on business with good margins instead of volume. Indeed, in the second half of the year the operating margin increased to 7.8pc from 5.9pc in the second half of 2010.

The group sold 11,171 units over the year, with the average selling price for each property rising to 204,000, up from 195,000. It sees volumes rising 5pc to 10pc in the new financial year, based on improving trends in the second half. This will be the highest level for three years.

The company also expects to return to profitability (before exceptional items) this year, guiding to pre-tax profits of 40m. This is at the upper end of analysts' expectations, with current consensus shown in the graphic at 33m. Last year the group posted a loss of 33m, once exceptional items were stripped out.

This time there will also be exceptional costs of about 55m, mainly due to cost associated with a refinancing and the cancellation of interest rate swaps. This should push the headline figure into the red, but this has been known by the market for some time.

Net debt was 330m at the end of the year, which is lower than guidance. This means analysts will have to reduce the amount of expected interest payments in their models, which is a positive. The company has refinanced and has 1bn of committed facilities for four years.

The company also said that the Government's shared-equity scheme, called FirstBuy, was working.

However, the share-price reaction indicated that there are obviously some negatives. Firstly, the outlook statement appeared more cautious than its peers. Mark Clare, chief executive, said that trading conditions in some areas outside London and the South East were "challenging".

There was also no sign of the dividend being reinstated, but this was unlikely anyway.

However, as the forecasts show, at least some analysts had been hoping for a payout resumption.

There were also negative comments from Robin Hardy, an analyst at KBC Peel Hunt. "The risk is that Barratt's London exposure blinds investors to the wider risks of a national, volume house builder," he said. "It is now alone in having material debt, has no surplus assets to sell and is making 300 basis points less than its cost of capital, even by 2013. Exposure to London is not enough to counter that." He thinks that overbuild could be a risk in London and hit prices hard.

Of course there is no doubt that things are tough out there for all house builders. However, Questor still thinks the shares are fundamentally undervalued and yesterday's fall has created an opportunity. Mr Hardy's bearishness about London also seems excessive.

The shares are one of Questor's tips of 2011 and they are up 19pc this year compared with a FTSE 100 down 3pc. Trading on a June 2012 earnings multiple of 14, falling to 8.3 in 2013, the shares are a buy.