Taylor Wimpey Share News (TW.)

(ShareCast News) - Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey said it will return £300m in dividends to shareholders, as it posted a 33.4% rise in pre-tax profit following a strong selling season in spring and early summer.For the period ended 28 June, profit before tax and exceptional items came in at £238m from £178.4m in the first half of last year, on revenue of £1.34bn, up 12.2% from £1.19bn. Analysts had been expecting the company to post a pre-tax profit of around £221m.The £300m it will be returning to shareholders is a 20% boost from last year's cash distribution.Total home completion increased by 2.6% to 5,842, build costs rose to £118,900 from £109,300, and total average selling prices were up by 9.2% at £225,000.Looking ahead, the company said that while there continues to be build cost pressure, particularly weighted towards labour costs, this pressure has reduced over the last seven months. It continues to expect build costs to rise by around 5% year-on-year during 2015 on an underlying basis.Chief executive Pete Redfern said: ""We have used the opportunity of a stable and positive housing market to make significant progress towards our medium term financial and quality objectives. We are confident of achieving the three year financial targets that we established in 2014, and continue to invest in recruiting and developing our people and enhancing the quality of our homes."