Bellway PLC (LSE:BWY) (LSE:BWY) said house price inflation continues to more than offset rising costs in the housebuilding sector.
The FTSE 250 housebuilder said there are “manageable short-term constraints in the supply chain and intermittent labour shortages across the sector” but that did not stop the company from having a sparkling fiscal year (to the end of July).
Average weekly private reservations during the year were 169 per week, up from 141 the year before and 160 the year before that (a year unaffected by the coronavirus pandemic).
The overall reservation rate rose by 14.6% to 204 per week (2020 - 178, 2019 – 210).
The number of housing completions rose by 34.8% to 10,138 from 7,522 the year before and 10,892 the year before that.
The company is awash with cash, with net cash of £330mln on the balance sheet compared to £1.4mln a year earlier and £201.2mln at the end of July 2019.
The group boasts a record forward sales position with an order book comprising 7,082 homes (2020 - 6,588 homes, 2019 - 4,878 homes) at a value of £2.02bn (2020 - £1.76bn, 2019 - £1.22bn).
“Going forward, we are in an excellent position to continue our long-term growth strategy. The group benefits from a substantial order book and a robust balance sheet. In addition, our record investment in land and the resultant strengthened land bank provides a strong platform for both volume growth and further margin recovery in the years ahead,” said Jason Honeyman, the chief executive of Bellway.
Shares in Bellway were up 0.2% at 3,316p.