Henry Boot hails ‘best year ever’

With its construction division trading ahead of expectations and strong sales from its land division, Henry Boot plc says that its underlying profits reached new heights last year.

However, due to a fall in UK property values impacting its investment portfolio, pre-tax profits will be marginally below the £48m level that analysts have forecasted.

Hallam Land Management (HLM), exceeding its strategic target of selling 3,500 plots per annum, thanks primarily to the sale of 2,170 plots to Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon Homes at Didcot.

Henry Boot Developments (HBD) completed £117m-worth of developments including five industrial schemes and a residential scheme in York.

The construction segment traded ahead of expectations in 2022 and began 2023 with 68% of the order book secured, while Banner Plant has seen “record levels of trading activity”, the board said in a trading update.

Chief executive Tim Roberts said: “Having seen strong sales across the group, we have had our best year ever at an underlying profit level. Reflecting a particularly challenging backdrop as the year progressed, during which a noteworthy £30m of accretive sales was achieved in a weak market, the year-end valuation movements in our investment portfolio have had an impact on our 2022 profit before tax. Whilst it’s too early to predict the outturn for 2023 at this stage, the group expects this year to be more challenging than 2022. We remain convinced, however, that in the medium term our three key markets, and the resilience of our business model, will allow us to continue to meet our strategic growth and return ambitions.”

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