Vistry Group PLC (LSE:VTY) saw its shares jump 4% in early trading as the housebuilder upgraded its profit forecast by £10mln to £450mln in an upbeat trading update ahead of its annual meeting on Thursday.
The FTSE 250-listed firm's CEO, Greg Fitzgerald, said that the group's operations were trading in line with its expectations for the year so far, attributing this to improved market conditions.
Vistry noted that its order book is robust at £4.475bn, securing most of its forecast units for the year. The company is also confident of managing cost pressures due to its larger purchasing scale and the visibility of revenues in its Partnerships business.
Fitzgerald further stated that the integration of Countryside was progressing well, predicting that it would bring £25mln of synergies in the fiscal year 2023, and reach a full run rate of £60mln by the end of 2024.
Vistry shares, up 32% in the year-to-date, opened 30.6p higher at 844.6p,
"The shares trade at 1.3-times book (Dec 23), a deserved premium to the sector (1.1) given the expected resilience of partnerships," noted analysts at City broker Liberum Capital.