Bellway increases dividend by 31% amid healthy demand and sales upturn

(Alliance News) - Bellway PLC on Tuesday said it is "encouraged" by current trading as it ...

Alliance News 25 March, 2025 | 9:31AM
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(Alliance News) - Bellway PLC on Tuesday said it is "encouraged" by current trading as it reported higher sales and profits in the first half of the financial year.

The Newcastle-upon-Tyne housebuilder said pretax profit rose 20% to GBP140.8 million in the half-year to January 31 from GBP117.4 million a year prior. Earnings per share increased by 20% to 84.6 pence from 70.6p.

Bellway said underlying operating profit increased by 12% to GBP156.6 million from GBP139.9 million and the underlying operating margin was in line with its expectations at 11.0%, unchanged year-on-year.

Revenue rose 12% to GBP1.43 billion from GBP1.27 billion and housing completions increased 12% to 4,577 from 4,092.

Chief Executive Jason Honeyman said: "Bellway has delivered a strong first half performance with good growth in volume output and profits. Underlying demand for our homes is healthy and we have been encouraged by the improvement in customer enquiries and reservations since the start of the new calendar year."

In response, shares in Bellway were 1.2% higher at 2,442.00 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.

The private reservation rate per outlet per week increased by 18.6% to 0.51 in the half-year from 0.43 a year prior.

In the seven weeks since February 1, the private reservation rate per outlet per week was 0.76 compared to 0.67 a year ago.

Bellway said it has been encouraged by a pick-up in customer enquiries and reservation rates in the spring selling season.

Honeyman said Bellway remains on track to deliver volume output of at least 8,500 homes in the financial year compared to 7,654 a year prior, and expects to build the order book through the second half.

The builder said this will "serve as a platform to drive further increases in output and, if market conditions remain stable, Bellway can deliver cumulative volume growth of 20% in the two years to 31 July 2026."

The firm continues to expect the full year average selling price to be around GBP310,000, up year-on-year from GBP307,909, and the underlying operating margin to approach 11.0%, up from 10.0%.

The interim dividend was hiked 31% to 21.0p from 16.0p.

By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter

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Securities Mentioned in Article

Security Name Price Change (%) Morningstar
Rating
Bellway PLC 2,394.00 GBX -0.66

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