During the six month period to December 31 2017, the volume housebuilder’s revenue increased 9.5% to £1,988.0 million. Total completions increased 2% to 7,324 units, of which 5,715 were for private homes, up 2.8%. Barratt’s private average selling price rose 6.1% to £314,600, aided by changes in mix and some underlying house price inflation.
Net private reservations increased 6.5% to a “very strong” 0.82 per active outlet per average week.
During the period, the housebuilder operated from an average of 376 outlets, up from the previous year’s 374. It launched 93 new outlets against 2016’s 83. Barratt said that it expected to see modest growth in average active outlet numbers for the full year.
Total forward sales as of February 18 rose 2% to £3,077.9 million.
David Thomas, Barratt’s CEO, 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.”