黑洞社区

Housebuilder Countryside is 鈥榰pgrading鈥� its forecasts for this year and next following better than expected interim results.

Half-year results for the six months to March 2017 showed underlying operating profit was up by 39% to 拢70.4m, up from 拢50.8m the previous year.

Profit rose despite a fall in the average selling price from 拢505,000 in 2016 to 拢441,000 - down by 13%.

Completions also jumped by 31% to 1,437, up from 1,095.

Countryside has two divisions - housebuilding and partnerships, which works with local authorities and housing associations.

The partnerships division had an adjusted operating profit of 拢38.5m up 66% per cent from 拢23.2m last year. This has led the company to upgrade its completions target within the partnerships division by 10%.

In the housebuilding division completions were up by 54% to 450 homes.

Countryside said it had secured 4,225 new plots in the half year including Bromley (384 plots) and Barking (911 plots) as well as Maidenhead (1,260 plots) and four sites around a new Crossrail station.

This brings the total number of Partnerships plots to 17,528.

The half year trading document said 鈥渨e expect profit to be ahead of market expectations鈥� and that the company was achieving its aim of increasing scale increasing scale in its housebuilding division.

Group chief executive Ian Sutcliffe (pictured), said performance had, 鈥渆xceeded our expectations鈥�. He added: 鈥淲e enter the second half of 2017 in an excellent position鈥�.