GFRD13 Jan 2012 13:37
Impressive growth at Galliford Try
By Jonas Crosland, 13 January 2012
■ Record number of houses built
■ Solid order book
■ Cheaper land boosts margins
Galliford Try delivered an impressive performance in the second half of 2011, pushing total completions ahead by 59 per cent to a record 1,352 units, with sales reserved, contracted and completed rising by 42 per cent to £522m. This is great growth considering the general housing-market backdrop, and we're big fans of the shares.
Average selling prices were up 17 per cent at £239,000, reflecting a greater proportion of properties sold in the south east of England, while cancellation rates fell from 20 per cent to 18 per cent. Margins have also been boosted as the housebuilder is now building on more land acquired at cheaper prices. In fact, of the 10,400 plots in the landbank, three quarters have been acquired at current market prices, up from 62 per cent a year ago.
The group's construction business is also performing well, helped by a diverse revenue stream. And despite a more selective approach to new work to preserve margins, the order book was only down slightly from £1.75bn last year to £1.6bn. Crucially, some 63 per cent of the order book comes from framework agreements.