First-half figures from land developer and housebuilder Henry Boot (BHY) would have underwhelming but for the completion of two land sales and the exchange of contracts on three others, all on the last day of the accounting period following delays as a result of the general election.
On the land development side, which operates through Hallam Land and specialises in bringing land through the planning process, units sold were broadly flat. But turnover rose because a higher proportion of the sales related to land owned by the company rather than to land on which it acts as an agent for third parties. The company currently has 40 sites equating to 12,000 units, all with planning permission and available for sale.
Demand for office and industrial space continues to improve, and Henry Boot expects the sale of two pre-let sites of 150,000 sq ft in total to complete in the second half. A speculative development of 130,000 sq ft of industrial space at Thorne is also expected to be finished by the end of 2015, with around half already sold or pre-let. On the construction side, the budgeted order book for the whole year has already been secured, with major wins including a contract with Leeds City Council to build a 45-unit extra care housing facility for £7.7m.
Analysts at WH Ireland are raising their forecasts for the full year to adjusted pre-tax profits of £30m and EPS of 17.2p (from £28.3m and 15.9p in 2014).
| HENRY BOOT (BHY) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 234p | MARKET VALUE: | £309m | |
| TOUCH: | 230-238p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 245p | LOW: 173p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.5% | PE RATIO: | 14 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 160p | NET DEBT: | 26% | |
| Half-year to 30 Jun | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 65.8 | 13.4 | 7.4 | 2.1 |
| 2015 | 79.2 | 14.0 | 7.8 | 2.3 |
| % change | +20 | +4 | +5 | +10 |
Ex-div: 24 Sep Payment: 23 Oct | ||||
