Persimmon poised to post half year profits surge as sales rise

Persimmon is set to post a half-year profits surge tomorrow as it continues to shrug off fears of a hit to property prices following the vote to leave the EU.
Jeff Fairburn the CEO for Persimmon, based in York.          Picture: Simon HulmeJeff Fairburn the CEO for Persimmon, based in York.          Picture: Simon Hulme
Jeff Fairburn the CEO for Persimmon, based in York. Picture: Simon Hulme

The Charles Church owner revealed robust home sales in a first-half update last month and said there would still be ‘good opportunities’ in the property market in the wake of Brexit.

Results from York-based Persimmon - the UK’s biggest housebuilder by volume - will also be scoured for any comment on more recent buyer demand and any signs of a pick-up thanks to the Bank of England’s rate cut and economy-boosting measures.

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Persimmon and its listed rivals saw shares surge after the Bank slashed rates to 0.25 per cent from 0.5 per cent and unveiled a package of measures worth up to £170bn.

With more rate cuts likely by the end of the year, housebuilders are seen as being among the biggest beneficiaries of the Bank’s economic-recovery plan.

Persimmon’s shares have rallied by around 30 per cent since July on the better-than-feared outlook, although they still remain below pre-referendum levels.

Analysts at Whitman Howard are expecting an impressive set of half-year figures from Persimmon, pencilling in a 27.9 per cent surge in pre-tax profits to £349m.

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This comes after Persimmon said it sold six per cent more homes in the first six months of 2016, at 7,238, with the average price up six per cent at around £205,500.

It added it took ‘good levels of sales’ throughout May and June.