nice starting point..

Sales well ahead at Barratt Developments

StockMarketWire.com

Barratt Developments has reported that market conditions remain strong, with high levels of consumer demand across all regions.

Net private reservations per week increased by 12.5% to 261 (2014: 232) since the start of July with a sales rate of 0.70 (2014: 0.63) net private reservations per active site per week.

Total forward sales (including joint ventures (���JVs��")) are up by 20.7% to £2,499.7m (2014: £2,071.7m).

The company says that to address the need for additional skilled labour, it has recruited 250 graduates, trainees and apprentices for next year.

As previously announced, the Board has proposed a record dividend payment of over £200m.

David Thomas, chief executive commented: ��SAgainst the backdrop of a significant structural shortage of new homes in Britain, we have made a strong start to the year.

"Operationally the business is performing well with strong sales, good control of input costs and continued land investment. Our targeted recruitment programme has delivered a further 250 new apprentices, graduates and trainees to the business.

"With our disciplined strategy and focus on achieving efficiencies across the business, we are on track to deliver further good progress in FY16. The outlook is positive and we are driving towards our FY17 targets of at least a 20% gross margin and at least a 25% return on capital employed.⬝

Trading statement http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=5191943

Barratt hikes divi as op. profits rise

StockMarketWire.com

Barratt Developments reports a strong first half with total completions - including joint ventures - up 9.4% at 7,626 and operating profits up 34.7% at GBP301.8m.

And the group reports a strong start to the second half with 260 (2015: 279) net private reservations per week at a rate of 0.71 (2015: 0.71) net private reservations per active site per week. Total forward sales including JVs as at 21 February up by 13.4% to �2,579.5m (22 February 2015: �2,275.3m).

Profit before tax increased by 40.3% to �295.0m, gross margin improved by 1.2 percentage points to 18.6% and operating margin improved by 1.9 percentage points to 16.1%. ROCE for the 12 months to 31 December 2015 was up by 3.9 percentage points to 25.5% showing in part the results of actions to improve returns, as well as being boosted by a high level of completions (including JVs) in the calendar year of 17,102 (2014: 15,614).

The interim dividend of 6.0p per share is up 25% on last time.

Black Rock Inc. go above 5%: http://www.moneyam.com/InvestorsRoom/posts.php?tid=13208#lastread

Are Housebuilders Persimmon plc, Barratt Developments plc & The Berkeley Group Holdings plc’s 12%+ Falls Offering Investors Another Opportunity?

Thursday 23 June ticks ever closer to what could prove to be the most important decision that the people of this country make in a lifetime - whether to remain a member of or leave the European Union.
The result of the vote, I suspect will have a significant effect on FTSE 100. Whether that's positive or negative will depend on which way the vote goes on the day. However, much like the UK's General Election last year, I think that the results are just too close to call.

Short-term opportunity?

There's no doubt that the fast approaching referendum is causing a great deal of uncertainty with many individual stocks. As we can see from the below chart, the three shares under review today have all been negatively impacted by the economic uncertainty events like this can cause.

Most notable is London-focused Berkeley Group

The UK's main exchange for buying and selling shares in public limited companies.
LSE:BKG) with the shares losing 20% over the last three months. That seems rather strange for a business, which in March informed the market that earnings for the year ending June 2016 would be at the top end of analyst expectations. Indeed, if this was a share in a different sector then I think it would be safe to say that the shares would have rerated.
This theme holds true with both Persimmon (LSE:PSN) and Barratt Developments (LSE:BDEV) too, with both companies reporting general consumer confidence supported by a growing economy and good availability of credit.

When these factors combine with other positive trends the outcome is a positive trading environment. So to me, the downward movement in the share price for all of these housebuilders is more down to sentiment than current trading. The uncertainty of an out vote, and more importantly the concern of the effect this would have on consumer confidence, are both impacting the shares.

Longer term gain?

Turning to the longer-term three-year chart (which allows us to relax a little more as some of the price swings that come with owning shares don't look quite as scary) and we can see that all three companies have outperformed the FTSE 100 benchmark by some margin.
Indeed, it's interesting to see that these shares are either at or approaching the level where they stood prior to the 7 May General Election. If you cast your mind back 12 months you'll recall the prospect of a hung parliament, a proposed mansion tax and uncertainty surrounding the help-to-buy scheme
As it turned out, the Conservatives gained a majority and as the chart showed the housebuilders enjoyed a particularly strong rally



Upgraded dividend appeal

As readers who are familiar with my articles will already be aware, I'm a big fan of dividends. I find that this can have a positive effect on company management by providing an anchor to the board, so that they remain disciplined in the allocation of my capital.
And to me it seems that this theme is continuing with all the businesses promising to return excess capital to shareholders.
With the current share price falls, investors who buy now can expect yields of between 6% and 7% - although it may be wise to wait and see whether we wish to remain in Europe first.

The number of British property funds suspended following the country's vote to leave the EU doubled to six on Wednesday, leaving 15 billion pounds ($19.4 billion) frozen in the biggest seizing up of investment funds since the 2008 financial crisis.

The funds pulled down the shutters after a wave of investors asked for their money back amid speculation about a possible drop in commercial property prices in reaction to the result of the June 23 referendum.

That in turn has raised concerns about the outlook for the broader financial system, given the risk of investors bailing out of other asset classes in a panic and of lenders to the sector such as banks suffering fresh balance sheet stress.

Henderson Global Investors, part of Henderson Group , said on Wednesday it had temporarily suspended trading in its 3.9 billion pound UK Property PAIF and PAIF feeder funds due to "exceptional liquidity pressures" given uncertainty after the Brexit vote and the other suspensions.

It was followed within the hour by Columbia Threadneedle, part of the Ameriprise Group, which said it had suspended trading in its Threadneedle UK Property Fund.

Canada Life said it had also suspended its Canlife Property and Canlife UK property funds, describing this as a deferral of requests to withdraw investments. "The deferral can be for up to six months, enabling the funds to ensure property values reflect market conditions," it said in a statement.

They joined rival funds managed by M&G Investments, Aviva Investors and Standard Life Investments which suspended trading on Monday and Tuesday.

"Over half of the property fund sector is now on ice, and will remain so until managers raise enough cash to meet redemptions. To do that they need to sell properties, and as any homeowner knows, that is not a quick or painless procedure," said Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at fund supermarket Hargreaves Lansdown.

"These funds are therefore likely to be closed for weeks and months rather than simply a matter of days," he wrote in a note to clients.

Britain's Financial Ombudsman Service said it had begun to receive calls from retail investors worried about the closures and the potential hit to their savings. "Although the decision to suspend redemptions was expected, the extent of the suspensions by the three funds so far is quite troubling," a spokeswoman said shortly before Wednesday's fund announcements.

Keenan Vyas, Director in the Real Estate Advisory Group at Duff & Phelps in London, said the consequences could be profound.

it shouldn't but most definitely will affect the residential sector, both in shares and the real world

StockMarketWire.com
Barratt Developments expects profit before tax for the year ended 30 June to increase by around 20% to c.£680m, in line with market forecasts (2015: £565.5m) after another strong performance.

Total completions, including joint ventures increased by 5.3% to 17,319 (2015: 16,447), as a result of strong consumer demand during the financial year.

Other highlights:
- Year end net cash balance of c. £590m (2015: £186.5m), ahead of expectations, driven by completion volumes and the timing of land payments

- Return on capital employed ('ROCE')(2) increased by c. 3 percentage points to c. 27% (2015: 23.9%) reflecting our fast asset turn model

Chief executive David Thomas said: "We have delivered another strong performance for the year. The disciplined growth in completion volumes reflects the strength of our sector leading build and sales teams.

"Following the EU referendum, it is too early to say what the impact of the uncertainty facing the UK economy will be. The sector continues to receive focused government support, mortgage availability is good and there remains an undersupply of new homes. With a strong balance sheet and forward order book, and industry leading quality and customer service, we remain confident in the positive fundamentals of both the housing sector and our business."

The group says it has traded well throughout the financial year, delivering a strong performance.

An update says: "We saw good consumer demand across our regions, with some increased uncertainty in the higher value London market. During the year, the mortgage market remained positive, with increased competition amongst lenders and new market entrants resulting in good availability of attractive mortgage finance for our customers." Total completions (including JVs) for FY16 were up 5.3% at 17,319 (2015: 16,447) units. Affordable housing represented 17% (2015: 18%) of total completions.

Total ASP on completions in the year increased by c. 10.6% to c. £260k (2015: £235.0k), with private ASP increasing by c. 10.5% to c. £290k (2015: £262.5k). The year on year increase predominantly reflects mix changes.

The sales rate for FY16 was 0.69 (2015: 0.64) net private reservations per active outlet per week, with a sales rate in the second half of 0.72 (2015: 0.70) net private reservations per active outlet per week. During the year, we operated from an average of 365 active outlets (2015: 380). JVs have performed well and the group's share of profits from JVs in FY16 is expected to increase to c. £72m (2015: £45.4m). As at 30 June 2016 it was selling from 11 (2015: 16) JV outlets.

Another gap (as per TW.) which would be nice to see closed!

StockMarketWire.com
Barratt Developments reports a strong operational and financial performance for the year to the end of June and a positive start to the new financial year.

The group reports a record profit before tax of £682.3m, up 20.7% on the prior year (2015: £565.5m), and its highest ROCE in ten years at 27.1% (2015: 23.9%). It also said it had significantly strengthened its balance sheet, ending the year with net cash of £592.0m.

Highlights
- Disciplined growth in housing completions, delivering the highest total in eight years

- Private average selling price increased by 10.4% to £289,800 (2015: £262,500), predominantly reflecting mix

- Strong growth in profit before tax, up by 20.7% to £682.3m (2015: £565.5m)

- ROCE up 3.2 ppts to 27.1% (2015: 23.9%), reflecting the group's fast asset turn model

- Positive cash generation resulting in strong balance sheet and net cash at 30 June 2016 of £592.0m (2015: £186.5m)

- Excellent future land opportunities secured with 24,387 plots approved for purchase; controlled land supply of 4.5 years at year end

- Step up in the delivery of strategic land with 22% (2015: 17%) of completions from strategic land

- 19% increase in final ordinary dividend per share to 12.3p (2015: 10.3p) together with 12.4p special dividend per share

- Total FY165 capital return of £308m (2015: £250m), equating to 30.7 pence per share (2015: 25.1 pence per share)

Current trading:
- Positive start to the new financial year, with net private reservations per active outlet per average week from 1 July 2016 of 0.75 (2015: 0.71)

- Total forward sales including JV's as at 4 September 2016 up by 4.1% compared to last year, at £2,416.5m (6 September 2015: £2,321.9m)

Chief executive David Thomas said: "The strong operational and financial performance in FY16 reinforces the progress we have made over the last few years as does our disciplined volume growth. This was underpinned by our fast asset turn model and our industry leading customer service and construction excellence.

"Barratt starts the new financial year in a good position with a strong balance sheet, good forward sales and an experienced management team. Whilst we continue to monitor market conditions closely, current trading trends are positive, and I remain confident in the fundamentals of the housing sector and of our business."

436.40p -39.50 (-8.30%)
The large fall was due to ....
X- dividend 37p ( 12.30p + 24.70p SPECIAL DIVIDEND ) almost 7%

Trading Statement

Trading continues well, with ongoing strong demand

Barratt Developments PLC (the 'Group') is today issuing a trading update in respect of the period from 1 July to 13 November 2016 (the 'period'). All comparatives are to the prior year equivalent period ('2015') unless otherwise stated.

The Group is holding its Annual General Meeting today at 2.30pm in London.

Highlights

· Overall market conditions remain healthy, with the Group trading well since the start of the new financial year

· Sales rate of 0.74 (2015: 0.71) net private reservations per active outlet per average week

· Total forward sales (including joint ventures ('JVs')) up by 4.3% to £2,654.3m (2015: £2,544.6m), with wholly owned forward sales up strongly by 19.5% to £2,466.1m (2015: £2,062.9m)

· As previously announced the Board has proposed a record dividend payment of £248m payable on 21 November 2016


more.....

Trading Statement

Good reservation trends leave the Group well on track for the full year

Barratt Developments PLC (the 'Group') is issuing a trading update in respect of the six months ended 31 December 2016 (the 'period') ahead of publication of its interim results on 22 February 2017. All comparatives are to the prior year equivalent six month period (the 'comparable period') ended 31 December 2015 ('2015') unless otherwise stated.



Highlights

· Overall market conditions are healthy with strong demand in the period for new homes

· Sales rate of 0.68 (2015: 0.66) net private reservations per active outlet per week(1)

· Completions outside of London are at the highest level for nine years, offset by lower completions in London primarily reflecting the planned HY1/HY2 build programme on wholly owned sites, resulting in total completions for the period (including joint ventures ('JVs')) of 7,180 (2015: 7,626)

· Profit before tax for the period is expected to be around £315m, c.7% higher than the comparable period (2015: £295.0m)

· Strong half year end net cash(2) position, at around £195m, an increase of £170.8m on 31 December 2015 (£24.2m)

· Total forward sales (including JVs) are up 15.8% against a strong prior year comparative at £2,336.6m (2015: £2,017.8m), with wholly owned forward sales up by 35.2% to £2,167.5m (2015: £1,603.0m)

Trading Statement

Continued strong performance

Barratt Developments PLC (the 'Group') is today issuing a trading update for the year ended 30 June 2017 (the 'period') ahead of publication of its annual results on 6 September 2017. All comparatives are to the year ended 30 June 2016 ('2016') unless otherwise stated.

Highlights

· The UK's largest housebuilder with total completions including joint ventures ('JVs') at 17,395 (2016: 17,319), the highest level of completions in nine years

· Profit before tax expected to increase to around £765m (2016: £682.3m), ahead of market expectations(1)

· Expect to deliver our financial targets set in 2014 of 20% gross profit margin and 25% return on capital employed ('ROCE')(2) for FY17

· Year end net cash(3) balance of c. £720m (30 June 2016: £592.0m), ahead of guidance, driven by strong performance and the timing of land and working capital payments




David Thomas, Chief Executive commented,

"It has been another very strong year for the Group both operationally and financially. We have delivered our highest number of completions for nine years, more than any other housebuilder, and continue to see a positive mortgage environment and strong consumer demand.

In March we were recognised as a five star builder by the Home Builders Federation for the eighth year in a row and we are determined to lead the industry in quality and service as we drive operational improvements through the business."

Trading Update

The Group has traded well throughout the year, once again delivering against our financial and operational targets. Market conditions remain supportive, with attractive mortgage financing and the support of Help to Buy driving strong consumer demand.

Completions (including JVs) for the period were 17,395 units (2016: 17,319 units). Affordable housing represented 20% (2016: 17%) of total completions.

Profit before tax for the period is expected to be around £765m (2016: £682.3m) and ahead of market expectations. We expect to meet our FY17 financial targets, set in 2014, of 20% gross profit margin and 25% ROCE, with ROCE expected to increase to around 29% (2016: 27.1%).

Total average selling price ('ASP') on completions in the year increased by c. 5.9% to c. £275k(4) (2016: £259.7k), with private ASP increasing by c. 8.0% to c. £313k (2016: £289.8k) benefiting from mix changes as well as some underlying house price inflation.

The sales rate for FY17 was 0.72 (2016: 0.69) net private reservations per active outlet per week in the full year and 0.76 (2016: 0.72) in the second half. During the year, we operated from an average of 377 active outlets including JV's (2016: 378).

We lead the industry in the high quality of our homes and our customer service. That quality is recognised through the NHBC Pride in the Job Awards where we have achieved more than any other housebuilder for the 13th consecutive year. We remain the only major housebuilder to be rated five star by our customers in the HBF customer satisfaction survey for eight consecutive years.

We are committed to investing in the future of housebuilding. We are one of the largest employers of apprentices in the industry, and continue to develop, trial and implement modern methods of construction which can help address industry-wide skills challenges and support future growth.

Forward Sales

Our forward sales position is strong, with total forward sales (including JVs) as at 30 June 2017 at a value of £2,144.4m (2016: £1,762.0m), equating to 9,762 plots (2016: 8,724 plots). Our wholly owned forward sales were up by 18.8% on the prior year to £1,909.2m (2016: £1,607.2m), equating to 8,953 plots (2016: 8,054 plots).

Land and Planning

The land market remains attractive and we continue to secure operational land opportunities that meet or exceed our minimum hurdle rates of 20% gross margin and 25% site ROCE(5).

We approved £957.2m (2016: £1,095.6m) of operational land for purchase in the period, which we expect to equate to 18,497 plots (2016: 24,387 plots). Whilst this is lower than historical levels, it reflects our caution immediately following the EU referendum. At 30 June 2017 the Group had around a 4.5 year supply of owned and controlled land, in line with our target.


Capital Structure and Returns

As at 30 June 2017 the Group had a net cash balance of c. £720m (2016: £592.0m), ahead of guidance, driven by strong performance and the timing of land and working capital payments.

We remain committed to our capital return policy announced in February and will announce in September the proposed full year ordinary dividend based on 2.5 times dividend cover. As previously announced, the Board also proposes to pay a special dividend of £175m in November 2017 and 2018. We expect to deliver cash returns of c. £1.4bn(6) of dividends (based on consensus earnings) in the four year period to November 2018.

Outlook

This has been another strong year for the Group and we continue to drive operational improvements through the business, with a particular focus on improving operating margin.

In FY18 we expect to deliver modest growth in wholly owned completions year on year.

We will update on current trading and our guidance for FY18, alongside our full year results announcement on 6 September 2017.

more.....

StockMarketWire.com
Barratt Developments posted pre-tax profits of £342.7m for the six month to the end of December, up 6.8% on the prior year period while total completions rose 2% to 7,324 plots.

The group said it intends to pay special dividends of £175m in November 2018 and £175m in November 2019.

The group said its net private reservation rate was 0.68 per active outlet per week in the half year period, unchanged compared to the prior year period. ROCE increased by 1.3 ppts to 28.3%.

During the period, the group operated from an average of 376 outlets (including JV's) and reported progress on new site openings, launching 93 new outlets (including JV's) in the half year.

Total forward sales (including JV's) as at 18 February 2018 were up 2.0% on the strong prior year at a £3,077.9m.

The hombuilder said it expects to grow volumes modestly and improve margin improvements through land acquisition and operational efficiencies but recognise that the continued headwinds in the high end central London market may dilute some of these percentage margin improvements. David Thomas, Chief Executive of Barratt Developments PLC said: 'With good consumer demand, a healthy forward order book and a robust balance sheet, overall we have had a strong first half and we continue to deliver against our operational and financial objectives.'

'As the UK's largest housebuilder, we enter our 60th year increasing our housing output, creating jobs and supporting economic growth across the country.'

'Having built more than 450,000 homes since 1958, Barratt remains focused on quality, design and industry-leading customer service while delivering homes the country needs.'

Barratt Developments books record profits as house prices jump
StockMarketWire.com
UK housebuilder Barratt Developments said Wednesday annual profits rose to a record owing to rising house prices.

For the year ended 30 June, profit before tax rose 9.2% to £835.5m and revenue rose 4.8% to £4.87bn.

The company attributed the growth in profit to a 5% rise in its average selling price to £288,900 from £275,200 seen in the previous year.

'Completions in our London business were ahead of expectations, with particularly strong final quarter Central London trading, resulting in a higher average selling price in the second half,' the company said.

Barratts housebuilding volumes came in at 17,579, up just 1.06% from 17,395 the previous year.

Forward sales, including joint ventures, came to £3.05bn on 2 September 2017, up 11.1% from last year.

Barratt also announced a 4.7% increase in its final dividend to 17.9p, and a special dividend of 17.3p a share.

In sign of confidence in the business, the company said it expected to grow volumes between 3% to 5% a year, acquire land at an increased minimum of 23% gross margin and maintain return on capital employed at a minimum of 25% over the medium term.

'The Group has had another outstanding year delivering a strong operational and financial performance, and our highest volumes in a decade,' the company said. 'The Group is well positioned to continue to improve its performance in future years'.

Story provided by StockMarketWire.com

The largest faller of the builders 490.90 -64.30 -11.58%

but more than half 35.2 pence is X-dividend - ( final dividend to 17.9p, and a special dividend of 17.3p a share.)

Barratt Developments first-half profit up 19% as margins improve
StockMarketWire.com
House builder Barratt Developments booked a 19% rise in first-half profit as it completed more homes and strengthened its margins.

Pre-tax profit for the six months through December rose to £408.0m, as revenue climbed 7.2% to £2.13bn.

The company declared an interim dividend of 9.6p per share, up 11.6% on-year.

Total completions rose 4.1% to 7,622, while gross margin expanded by 200 basis points to 22.6%.

Net private reservations, however, dropped to 0.64 per active outlet per week, down from 0.68 on-year.

'The group has delivered a strong operational and financial performance across the half year,' chief executive David Thomas said.

'Whilst we continue to monitor market conditions closely, current trading is in line with our expectations and we are confident of delivering a good financial and operational performance in the full year.'



At 8:14am: (LON:BDEV) Barratt Developments PLC share price was +10.3p at 556.7p


Story provided by StockMarketWire.com

Another cracking chart Fred.