MJ Gleeson PLC (LON:GLE) said its first half results are expected to “comfortably exceed those of the prior year comparable period” and the housebuilder has maintained guidance for full year results to be in line with its expectations.
In a trading update, the urban regeneration and strategic land specialist said its Gleeson Homes business completed the sale of 593 units, up 31% on the previous half-year's total of 451 unit completions.
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It added that Gleeson Strategic Land sold three sites, the same number as the previous half-year although, as indicated in the AGM Statement issued on 7 December 2017, these were smaller sites and this will lead to the division's first half-year results being lower than those of the previous year and second-half results being higher than those of the prior year.
The small cap firm said it will report results for the half-year to end December 2017 on Monday, 19 February 2018.
In an initial note to clients, analysts at Liberum Capital said the trading update shows that the first half ended strongly for Gleeson.
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They commented: “Homes appears on schedule for a doubling of output within five years of 2017. Demand remains strong for both Homes and Strategic Land.”
The analysts raised their target price for MJ Gleeson shares to 844p from 830p and reiterated a ‘buy’ rating on the stock. The shares ended trading yesterday at 792p.