Barratt Developments sees share uplift despite weak H1 results

The price of shares in FTSE 100 housebuilder Barratt Developments (LON:BDEV) climbed by 7.43% to 541p (as of 12:15 BST) despite the firm reporting a 45.8% plunge in pre-tax profits for the half year ended 30th June. Revenues for the period dropped by 28.2% as completions fell by 29.4%, but management said that the current forward sales position was stronger than during the this point of the prior year.

CEO David Thomas commented: “While COVID-19 has had a significant impact on our results, our priority has been to keep our people safe, mitigate the effect of the pandemic on our business and be able to emerge from the crisis in a resilient position. Although uncertainties remain, all of our sites are operational, we are seeing very strong consumer demand and our robust financial position means we enter the new financial year with cautious optimism. We are now renewing our focus on our medium term targets, on leading the industry in quality and service and on supporting jobs and economic growth by building the homes the country needs“.