Housebuilder Persimmon (LON:PSON) posted higher profits and orders ahead of last year, but warned that lack of skilled staff was holding it back.
Persimmon said pre-tax profit in the six months to June 30 increased 31% to £272.8mln on an 11% rise in revenue to £1.33bn.
Home deal legal completions increased 7% to 6,855 and the group's average selling price lifted 4% to £194,378.
The company also said current forward sales were 12% ahead of the same period last year at more than £1.7bn.
Persimmon is targeting increased production to try to ease the UK's housing shortage, but said finding skilled labour was proving tough.
It said it had invested more in training programmes for apprentices and trainees across its nationwide office network.
The group said it had now entered the traditionally slower summer sales season and the number of visitors to its sites since the beginning of July had matched last year.
Private sales rates in that period had been 5% ahead of the same period last year.
Figures earlier this month showed that the UK construction output growth slowed in July from June’s four-month high amid a weaker rise in housing activity.
Persimmon said it believed mortgage lending would continue to increase.
Chairman Nick Wrigley said: "With lenders increasingly competing for greater numbers of customers we expect that the house building industry will have the opportunity to continue to expand output to achieve higher levels of new homes.
"We anticipate a good autumn selling season after the summer holiday period draws to a close in early September."