Rising costs squeeze TW margin

Taylor Wimpey completed 6,541 homes in the half year to the end of June 2019 excluding joint ventures up from 6,497 in the same period last year.

Although revenue rose to £1,732.7 million from £1,719.8 million, operating profit was down to £311.9 million from £344.3 million last year, which TW says reflects higher build costs and a change of geographic mix, partly offset by higher volumes. Operating profit margin is 18.0% (H1 2018: 20.0%) with profit before tax £299.8 million (H1 2018: £301.0 million)

Pete Redfern, TW ceo, said: "We have made good progress in the first half against our long term strategy, underpinned by our continued commitment to our customers, build quality and employee engagement. We delivered a record sales rate in the first half as we saw strong customer demand for our homes in a stable market and the success of our strategy to build more homes on our larger sites coming through more quickly than anticipated.

“Despite wider political uncertainty, conditions for the housing market continue to be supportive with good affordability and access to finance. We have not seen any meaningful change in customer confidence, with positive underlying metrics and forward indicators. We …