By Charlie Conchie
Housebuilder Barratt Developments warned that economic volatility was clouding the picture for the year ahead today but doubled down on profit targets for the remainder of the year.
In a half year trading update, the FTSE-100 firm said it had launched 25 new developments in the first six months of the year – down from 27 in the same period last year – with 3,608 homes in total, down from 3,699 last year.
Bosses warned that wider economic uncertainty was dampening customer confidence but it expected to deliver average sales outlet growth of around three per cent for the full year.
“We continue to see strong levels of interest across the country, however private reservations remain below the level seen in FY22 as customers react to the wider economic uncertainty,” said chief David Thomas.
“Whilst the outlook for the year is less certain, we remain on track to deliver adjusted profit before tax for the year in line with current consensus, and we are focused on maintaining our commitment to lead the industry in the quality, energy-efficiency and sustainability of our homes and in our customer service, all of which are fundamental to our ongoing success amid a more challenging market backdrop”
Total forward sales as of 9th October slumped to 13,314 homes however, down from 15,393 at the same point last year.
Barratt doubled down on a planned £200m buyback despite the uncertainty and said they had purchased 10.645m shares for cancellation at a cost of £39.9m.
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