Taylor Wimpey reported a fall in first-half operating profit and pre-tax profit, driven by a £88 million fire-safety writedown, while completions declined and the stock rose slightly.
British housebuilder Taylor Wimpey (LSE:TW) saw its shares rise on Wednesday, closing shy of 1% higher, after a stronger than expected, albeit not perfectly positive performance.
Taylow Wimpey’s first half operating profit fell by more than 20% to £182 million, and pre-tax profit was down nearly 60% - impacted by a £88 million writedown related to fire safety improvements.
Nevertheless, the downside was already priced in and some of its on-site metrics surprised the market to the upside.
The builder completed 4,654 homes in the first half, an 8% decrease from the same period last year.
It now expects full-year completions to reach the upper end of its guidance range of 9,500 to 10,000 homes.
In today’s commentary, meanwhile chief executive Jennie Daly was upbeat in support of the new British government's target to build 1.5 million new homes over the next five years, describing the target as "ambitious" and necessary for future growth.
In London, Taylor Wimpey shares closed Wednesday up 0.7% at 159.70p.
