Bovis ticked all the right boxes at the interim stage, posting a 76 per cent rise in operating profits and doubling the interim dividend. Legal completions from the company's 82 active sales outlets, up from 68 at this stage last year, rose by 18 per cent to 944 homes and average selling prices edged ahead to £164,400. Profits were also boosted by land sales profits of £3.9m.
Moreover, operating margins increased from 7.5 per cent to 10.3 per cent, and chief executive David Ritchie is confident that for the full year these will rise to between 12 and 13 per cent. Much of the improvement reflected a greater contribution from sales on cheaper sites acquired since the downturn. And the land bank has been boosted by the addition of 1,037 consented plots, taking the total to 13,620, without including a further 19,829 potential plots in the strategic land bank.