Bovis Homes FY profits meet expectations

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by Kay Murchie

Housebuilder Bovis Homes has today announced it has returned to profit as the housing market recovered in the latter half of last year.

The group said full-year results were in line with forecasts and posted a 2009 pre-tax profit of £4.8 million, against a £78.7 million loss in the previous year.

The housebuilder said the recovery of the market appears to be continuing with almost 1,000 homes held for sale compared with 772 houses at the same time a year ago.

Furthermore, reservations are on the up with the number of people reserving new homes last year at 1,801 - a rise of 82% on levels in the previous year.

Commenting on its figures, the group said: “It is now well placed to use its balance sheet strength to acquire new land for homes to support future growth.”

The news comes after fellow housebuilder, Taylor Wimpey, said it also returned to profitability in the latter half of 2009.

Taylor Wimpey reported a pre-tax loss of £699.9 million for 2009, compared with a loss of £1.97 billion in 2008.

Bovis Homes, like many other housebuilders, experienced a dismal 2008 as a result of falling house prices and the tightening of lending criteria.

However, it appears the industry is picking up but many are still concerned that without a hefty deposit, first-time buyers will continue to be locked out of the housing market for some time.

Furthermore, the strength of the recovery within the property market was highlighted earlier this month after the Halifax and the Nationwide both reported house price falls for the month of February.