LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Bellway plc (BWY.L) reported a growth of 71.6% in underlying profit before tax for the year ended 31 July 2021. Underlying operating margin increased to 17.0% from 14.5%, a year ago. For the fiscal year, total revenue increased by 40.3% with significant growth in housing revenue. The Group said the growth in housing revenue has principally been achieved by the recovery in volume output, with housing completions rising by 34.8% to 10,138.
Looking forward, the Group projects underlying operating margin will continue to recover to around 18% in the year ahead. The Board expects the Group to increase output by around 10% to over 11,100 new homes in the year ending 31 July 2022, with growth weighted towards the second half of the financial year. Over the medium and longer-term, the Board is targeting a long-term, sustainable, normalised underlying operating margin of between 18% and 19%.
Fiscal year underlying profit before tax increased to 530.8 million pounds from 309.3 million pounds, a year ago. Profit before tax increased by 102.4% to 479.0 million pounds from 236.7 million pounds. Earnings per share was 315.8 pence compared to 156.1 pence.
Total revenue increased to 3.12 billion pounds from 2.22 billion pounds, last year. Housing revenue rose by 40.9% to 3.11 billion pounds.
The Board recommended a 65.0% increase in the final dividend to 82.5 pence per share. As a result, the proposed total dividend for the year will increase by 135.0% to 117.5 pence per share.
The Group stated that, in the first nine weeks of the new fiscal year, trading has remained strong, with overall weekly reservations at 218 per week. The Group said this is lower than a year ago, when reservations were elevated due to pent-up demand as the country emerged from the first national lock-down.
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