Bellway PLC (LSE:BWY) should be in a good position to benefit from the government’s housebuilding plans but the same could have been said about peer Vistry before last week's shock warning.
Granted, Vistry’s issues look very company-specific and in its last update, in August, Bellway was reasonably confident about the outcome for this year.
FTSE 250 member Bellway is focused on building family homes, so a shake-up of the planning system and fast-tracking urban brownfield sites for development should also play into its strengths, says Hargreaves Lansdown.
Bellway recently lifted its pricing forecasts following stronger trading through the key spring season; Hargreaves said investors will want to see if its guidance for housing completions remains unchanged with orders rising.
Bellway stated that at the end of July, its order book had increased to 5,144 homes (2023 - 4,411 homes), with a value of £1.413 billion (2023 - £1.194 billion).
“The higher level of private reservations was the primary driver of the increase in the forward order book, which will serve as a platform for a return to growth in the financial year 2025," said Hargreaves.
According to Hargreaves, much of the optimism is already priced in and has been reflected in significant share price gains this year, "so investors are set to be sensitive to any missteps ahead".
The numbers themselves will also not make pretty reading with revenues this year well down at £2.35 billion (2023 - £3.39 billion) and total housing completions down by 30% at 7,654 homes (2023 - 10,945 homes).