Persimmon PLC (LSE:PSN) remains on course to hit current profit expectations despite a brutal first half which saw revenue, profit and completions tumble as rising interest rates took their toll on the housing market.
Chief executive Dean Finch said: “Against a backdrop of higher mortgage rates, the removal of Help to Buy and significant market uncertainty, Persimmon has delivered a robust sales rate excluding bulk sales whilst growing the private average selling price in our forward order book and also securing cost savings.
“We are on track to deliver profit expectations for the year and are building a platform for future growth.”
New home completions in the six months to 30 June 2023 slid to 4,249 down from 6,652 the year before while revenue of £1.19 billion was down from £1.69 billion.
Pre-tax profit more than halved to £151.0 million from £439.7 million before with EPS of 34.4p down from 106.5p.
But the housebuilder did reinstate the interim dividend at 20p per share.
The sales rate of 0.59 for the period was down from 0.91 last year, broadly sustaining the higher-than-expected rates seen in the first quarter.
Looking ahead, Finch said: “We expect increasing completions to result in improving operating margins.”