Housing legal completions up 7% at 1,206 (2015: 1,124); open market unit completions, excluding Private Rental Sector - (PRS), up 9% at 909 (2015: 834).
Sales per outlet week including PRS up 4% at 1.06 (2015: 1.02).
Housing revenue at £384m up 26% on 2015, reflecting volume growth and both sales price and location mix impacts on open market Average Selling Prices (ASP).
Operating profit margin maintained at 19.1% (2015: 19.1%).
Basic earnings per share up 25%.
Selective land acquisitions ensure pipeline of new sites available to support business growth.
Forward sales at mid-June 2016 of £520.8m (2015: £436.4m), 19% ahead of prior year.
Interim dividend proposed of 9.1p per share (2015: 6.4p), up 42% in line with our target to reduce dividend cover to 2x by 2017.
On target to deliver £1bn of revenue by October 2016 and 4,000 homes and £1.4bn revenue by 2019.
Commenting on today's statement, Stephen Stone, Chief Executive, said:
"Whilst the debate about the forthcoming referendum on UK membership of the European Union continues to dominate the headlines and the Board notes the risk of business disruption in the event of a vote to leave, purchaser demand for new homes remains strong and Crest Nicholson has delivered a 9% increase in open market completions in the first half of this year. We continue to grow our Private Rented Sector offering and have delivered 173 Private Rented Sector units in the first half, on schemes in Bath, Bristol and Southampton. The business is well positioned to achieve its target of £1bn of revenues in 2016 and to continue growing its contribution to overall housing delivery."
