Bellway warned that a shortage of materials and workers was holding back construction – even after its profits doubled.
The housebuilder yesterday said a lack of lorry drivers and disruption to fuel supplies ‘has had some impact on the avail-ability of materials’.
In an otherwise upbeat set of annual results, Bellway also bemoaned ‘intermittent labour shortages across the sector’ as staff, contractors and suppliers self-isolate to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Supply woes: Housebuilder Bellway said a lack of lorry drivers and disruption to fuel supplies ‘has had some impact on the availability of materials’
Chief executive Jason Honeyman said that while these issues were ‘manageable’, it meant the number of homes it builds between August and January this year would be no higher than at the same time last year.
Bellway shares rose 1.6 per cent, or 53p, to 3405p, however, as investors welcomed a stellar set of results.
The FTSE 250 firm said profits in the 12 months to the end of July jumped 102.4 per cent to £479million while revenues surged 40.3 per cent to £3.1billion.
The company built 10,138 homes, a near-35 per cent increase on the prior year.
It also ploughed over £1billion into its land bank, picking up a record 19,819 new plots.
The total dividend for the year of 117.5p per share was up 135 per cent.
Like many other housebuilders, Bellway’s business boomed during the pandemic as the stamp duty holiday and a ‘race for space’ among buyers moving from the city to the countryside turbocharged demand.
#fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle#mobile {display:none} #fiveDealsWidget {display:block; float:left; clear:both; max-width:636px; margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; font-size:12px} #fiveDealsWidget div, #fiveDealsWidget a {margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; text-decoration: none; font-family:Arial, Helvetica ,sans-serif} #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitleBox {display:block; float:left; width:100%; background-color:#af1e1e; } #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitle {color:#fff; text-transform: uppercase; font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; margin:6px 10px 4px 10px; } #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {float:left; display:block; width:124px; margin-right:4px; margin-top:5px; background-color: #e3e3e3; min-height:200px;} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {margin-right:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {display:block; margin:10px 5px; color:#000; font-weight:bold} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {float:left; display:block; margin:0; padding:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {border:1px solid #ccc} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {width:100%; height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemdesc {float:left; display:block; color:#004db3; font-weight:bold; margin:5px;} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemRate {float:left; display:block; color:#000; margin:5px} #fiveDealsWidget .footerText a:hover{text-decoration: underline;} #fiveDealsWidget .footerSmall{font-size:10px; padding-top:10px;} @media (max-width: 635px) { #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {width:19%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:20%} } @media (max-width: 560px) { #fiveDealsWidget #desktop {display:none;} #fiveDealsWidget #mobile {display:block!important} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {background-color: #fff; height:auto; min-height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {border-bottom:1px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:10px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {border-bottom:0px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:0px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem, #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:100%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {float:left; display:inline-block} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {width:35%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent {width:63%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {margin: 0px 5px 5px; font-size:16px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemdesc, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemRate {clear:both} }
