Operating profit at housing division David Wilson Homes drops 20% to 拢90.2m and operating margin falls by 2.6% to 19.6%.
Wilson Bowden today said that it had been unable to defy a weak UK housing market as it announced a 13% fall in pre-tax profit to 拢98.5m for the 26 weeks to 1 July.
Operating profit at housing division David Wilson Homes dropped 20% to 拢90.2m and operating margin fell by 2.6% to 19.6% largely because of an increased use of incentives.
Wilson Bowden鈥檚 commercial and mixed-use division fared much better, with operating profit up 28% to 拢20.1m.
Chairman David Wilson said: 鈥淭he outlook for the current year remains mixed. On David Wilson Homes, despite all our efforts to maximise site throughput and reduce costs, the year鈥檚 outturn is still highly dependent on the strength of the market in the autumn.鈥�
The company鈥檚 forward order book at the half-year stage dropped 21% to 1,488 units with a sales value of 拢270.5m, compared with 1,765 units (拢342.8m) at the same stage last year.
