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Britain's Bellway forecasts lower profits due to COVID-19 curbs

A Bellway sign is seen at a housing construction site in London

(Reuters) - British housebuilder Bellway Plc <BWY.L> said on Tuesday it expects profits to fall in 2020 and beyond as coronavirus lockdowns led to extended site work and reduced productivity, resulting in a surge in costs.

Housing completions fell by nearly a third but temporary stamp duty holiday and gradual reopening of its sites have led to a pick-up in demand, the company, which builds apartments, family homes and luxury penthouses, said.

Bellway is keen to resume dividend payments as soon as there was more certainty on the economic outlook, the company said.

Britain's housing market, which came to a virtual standstill in late March and April, has since picked up momentum due to easing curbs and tax breaks for home purchases in England and Northern Ireland.

Newcastle-based Bellway said housing completions fell 31% to 7,522 in the full year ended July 31, but it had a strong order book with a value of 1,760.2 million pounds ($2.30 billion), compared to 1,223.9 million pounds last year.

Average selling price of home completions was around 293,000 pounds, versus 291,968 pounds reported last year.

(Reporting by Samantha Machado in Bengaluru; Editing by Ramakrishnan M.)