Bovis order book in best position for "many years" - UPDATE

8th Nov 2013 07:42

- Private reservations up 45 per cent- Sees 2800 completions in 2013- Expects FY margins of at least 23 per centBovis Homes underlined the healthy state of Britain's housing market after it revealed its forward order book was in its "best position for many years".It said government measures such as the Help to Buy scheme had contributed to an already more confident housing market and trading conditions remained encouraging.The British housebuilder said it had reached its target for private reservations for 2013 at the end of September -- significantly earlier than in previous years.Net private reservations for the 44 weeks to November 1st were 2,390, up 45% on the same period last year. It expects to deliver about 2,800 legal completions in 2013 and expects the average sale price to be at least 10% higher than that achieved in 2012. It sees its gross profit margin for the year increasing to at least 23%.Chief Executive David Ritchie said: "Our strong trading performance has continued through the third quarter and we are confident of achieving our targeted results for the year as whole."The group has added about 3,300 plots on 22 sites to its consented land bank so far this year and a further 1,200 plots on 13 sites are contracted. Shares in Bovis were up 1.4% at 773p at 08:04 on Friday. The upbeat statement prompted Jefferies' analyst Anthony Codling to raise his price target on the stock to 1,022p from 995p and hike his earnings estimates by 10% for 2014 and by 8% for 2015.TB