Blue chip housebuilder Persimmon PLC (LON:PSN) said its “operational performance continues to be excellent” helped by a resilient UK economy.
In trading update ahead of its annual general meeting today in York, the FTSE 100-listed firm said its total forward sales revenue, including legal completions taken to date, is currently £2.56bn, around 11% higher £2.31bn seen at the same stage in 2016.
READ: Persimmon reports growth in full year profits
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Persimmon, added, despite the particularly strong comparatives from the first quarter of last year, its weekly private sales rate per site since reporting is currently 12% ahead of last year, resulting in a sales rate which is now 4% ahead for the year to date.
The housebuilder said it has 8,928 new private homes forward sold, with an average selling price of around £229,500, an increase of 4.1% on the previous year.
Persimmon attracts 6% more visitors to its development sites
The firm said its “focus on building family housing at affordable prices provides a compelling choice for potential new home buyers and has attracted 6% more visitors to our development sites than last year at this stage.”
Persimmon pointed out that, despite continued difficulties encountered with planning delays, it has opened 67 of the 90 new sites planned for the first half of the year.
The group said it is currently developing 382 active sales outlets across the UK and is building new homes on all sites that have an implementable detailed planning consent.
Shares up, but ShoreCap analyst says look to take some profits
In early morning trading, Persimmon shares were nearly 1%, or 22p higher at 2,308p.
In a note to clients, Shore Capital analyst Robin Hardy said: “As with many other house builders, Persimmon stands around 16-17% ahead of our fair value after a very strong Q1.
“We think this is high enough and we should now look at our recommendation which has been Buy.”
He added: “The shares are looking over-bought and we certainly think that investors should looks to take some profits at this stage.”
-- Adds share price, broker comment --