Persimmon shares up as housing market remains “confident”

Housebuilder Persimmon (LON:PSN) reported another set of bullish figures on Tuesday, as the housing industry continues to remain buoyant in the face of Brexit.

Profit before tax increased 30 percent to £457.4 million in the first six months of the year, with revenue rising 12 percent to £1.66 billion. The average selling price of its homes saw a 3.5 per cent rise to £213,000, with legal completions up 8 percent to 7,794.

The group said it traded strongly in the first half of the year, with the strength of the market reflected in the group’s average weekly private sales rate per site of 0.80, around 7 percent ahead year-on-year.

Jeff Fairburn, Group Chief Executive, said the market remains “confident”, adding:

“The successful execution of the Group’s long term strategy continues to support excellent trading results as seen again in the first half of 2017.

“Customer interest in our developments remains strong with encouraging levels of interest through both our websites and our sales outlets as we trade through the quieter summer weeks.

“We are looking forward to a good autumn sales season With a high quality land bank, very strong balance sheet and excellent forward sales the Group has built a platform for its future success”, Fairburn concluded.

Persimmon shares are currently trading up on the news, at 2,629.00 (0907GMT).