Barratt says full year profit to exceed expectations

LONDON, July 10 (Reuters) - British housebuilder BarrattDevelopments said it expects to post full year profitabove the top end of analyst expectations, after governmentschemes to help struggling homebuyers sent sales up sharply.

Britain's largest housebuilder by volume forecasted 2013profit before tax to be 192 million pounds ($285 million).Analysts were expecting the company's profits to be between 170to 191 million pounds, Thomson Reuters data showed.

"As more house buyers return to the market, supported byimproved mortgage availability and the Help to Buy scheme, weare in a strong position to continue to grow the value of thebusiness," Chief Executive Mark Clare said on Wednesday.

"We are increasing our investment in land whilst reducingdebt and have delivered a performance ahead of expectations."

The company said its sales rate rose by 17.9 percent in thesecond half compared to the prior year, while the average netprivate reservations per active site per week was 0.66.

Its sales rate rose by 34.7 percent since the government'sso-called 'Help to Buy' scheme kicked off in April, Barrattsaid. Total forward sales were up 53.6 percent to 829.7 millionpounds at the end of June.

The company and its competitors such as Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey have seen sales and reservations jumpin the months since the government unveiled plans to supportstruggling house buyers with billions of pounds in loans.

Their profits have also been helped by a strategy of buyingland cheaply during the financial crisis, which has boostedtheir margins, and by building more lucrative family homesrather than city centre flats.

Barratt said completions, including joint ventures, totalled13,663 for the full year, and that private completions were upby 16.1 percent in the second half. Its average selling pricewas up 9 percent over the period, reflecting its changing mix ofhomes.

It said it could hit its target of completing 16,000 homesearlier than expected due to the strong demand generated by theHelp to Buy scheme.

In a separate statement, it said its London unit has formeda joint venture with a fund managed by Morgan Stanley Real Estate to build 770 homes on the banks of the River Thamesin London which has a development value of 275 million pounds.

Shares in Barratt closed at 342.9 pence on Tuesday, valuingthe company at 5.02 billion pounds.