LONDON, March 3 (Reuters) - British housebuilder TaylorWimpey said it had seen a strong start to the springselling season as it posted a 68 percent rise in 2014 profit andmore than doubled its final dividend.
The company, which completed 12,454 homes across the UK in2014, reported adjusted pretax profit of 450.1 million pounds,broadly in line with market expectations.
"The beginning of spring selling season has seen trading atthe better end of expectations," said Chief Executive PeteRedfern in a statement on Tuesday.
The company said it would pay a final dividend of 1.32 penceper share, up from 0.47 pence a year ago, in addition to specialpayouts, including 7.68 pence per share already announced forJuly.
(Reporting by Paul Sandle; Editing by Li-mei Hoang)