Last checked at 
* Company says forward sales up 15%
* 2020 pre-tax profit down 25%
(Adds analyst comment, share movement)
March 3 (Reuters) - Britain's second-largest homebuilder
Persimmon expects the number of houses it delivers to
return to pre-pandemic levels by next year, the company said, as
it charted a phased dividend distribution plan for 2020.
Shares in the FTSE 100-listed company jumped 4.2% to 28.2
pounds.
Demand for houses has been rising since the initial
coronavirus disruptions, but Persimmon, which on Wednesday
reported a 15% surge in forward sales to 2.3 billion pounds
($3.21 billion), has been cautious compared to its rivals that
have been more upbeat about the short-term outlook.
Persimmon said it expects to pay a total 2020 dividend of
235 pence per share in three instalments from March through
December versus 110 pence per share a year earlier.
"Persimmon stands out from the pack. It takes a more
cautious stance than some, but achieves higher margins and cash
generation across the cycle as a result," Hargreaves analyst
Steve Clayton said.
As recently as January, Persimmon flagged risks to its
construction sites from the new coronavirus variant and the
ongoing lockdowns.
The company said the average private weekly sales rate per
site for 2020 was 12% higher year-on-year, reflecting good stock
availability coming into the year and strong customer demand.
Over the first eight weeks of this year, the rate was 7% above
year-ago levels.
Annual pre-tax profit fell about 25% to 783.8 million pounds
for the year ended Dec. 31, 2020.
Britain is set to extend a stamp duty break by three months
and unveil a mortgage guarantee scheme in the budget
announcement later in the day, moves that would further boost
the sector after Prime Minister Boris Johnson mapped an exit
plan from lockdowns last week.
Persimmon's bigger rival Barratt and No.3 player
Taylor Wimpey have both forecast strong market activity
this year.
($1 = 0.7167 pounds)
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru
Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Barbara Lewis)
