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(Alliance News) - Barratt Developments PLC on Wednesday gave a trading update ahead of its annual general meeting, noting mortgage challenges for potential homebuyers.
The Leicestershire, England-based housebuilder said that from July 1 to October 8, it traded in line with its own expectations.
Chief Executive Officer David Thomas said: "The trading environment remains difficult, with potential homebuyers still facing mortgage challenges. Against this backdrop, we are focused on driving revenue whilst continuing to manage build activity and carefully control our cost base. As always, we remain focused on leading the industry in building high quality, energy efficient and sustainable homes for our customers."
Net private reservations per average week were 169, 10% lower than 188 a year ago. The company is now 60% forward sold regarding its private wholly owned home completions for its financial 2024 ending June 30, down from 70% a year ago.
Looking ahead, Barratt said the outlook remains uncertain due to the pricing of mortgages which it said was critical to the long-term health of the UK housing market. It said it continued to expect to deliver between 13,250 and 14,250 homes in financial 2024, down at least 17% from 17,206 in financial 2023.
"Whilst we expect that the backdrop will continue to be difficult over the coming months, we are a resilient business with a strong balance sheet and a highly experienced management team. We remain committed to building the communities that our customers want to live in - delivering high-quality, sustainable homes at competitive prices to help address the country's housing crisis and drive long term, sustainable growth for our business," it said.
Barratt will publish its half-year results on February 7.
Barratt shares were 2.2% lower at 414.40 pence each on Wednesday morning in London.
By Tom Budszus, Alliance News reporter
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