Telford Homes Share News (TEF)

- More than doubles pre-tax profit as London market flourishes- Strong forward sales, hikes dividend- Expects profit to double again by 2018Property development group Telford Homes said it more than doubled full-year profit as the London market continues to boom and expects profit to double again by 2018.Pre-tax profit jumped to £19.2m in the year ended March 31st from £9.0m the year before, helped by the strong London market. The group said 98% of expected open market completions for the year to March 2015 are forward sold. Over 70% for 2016 and over 25% for 2017 have been forward sold, boosting profit and cash flow visibility.The board expects pre-tax profit to double again by March 31st 2018 with a cumulative total of more than £120m anticipated over the next four financial years. Chief Executive Jon Di-Stefano said: "London has one of the strongest and most robust property markets in the world and Telford Homes is operating in the right locations within that market where customers both want to live and can afford to live. "Sales are being achieved at increasing prices and the group is reporting significantly higher margins and profits with considerable levels of forward sales already achieved for the year to March 31s t2015 and beyond."Its development pipeline has increased to £875m of future revenue, which is more than six times the revenue reported in the year to March 31st 2014, the group explained.Telford has proposed a final dividend of 5.1p bringing the total to 8.8p for the year compared to 4.8p a year earlier. CJ