Buoyant Barratt sees healthy housing market

Barratt released its H1 2022 results this morning, it has had  a good first half and expects the second half to be even better

What they said

Total home completions 8,067

Profit before tax £432.6m

Forward order book 15,736 homes (up 10%)

Interim dividend 11.p per share (up 49%)

On building safety: remediation carried out at no cost to leaseholders where Barratt is the 'responsible person' 

Guidance nudged up for the full year

Planned reduction in dividend cover 

Twindig Take

Barrratt delivered a strong set of financial results this morning. It has steered its ship calmly through the choppy and unpredictable COVID-19 waters and is emerging from them in a stronger position than it entered them in. The housing market is not showing any signs of slowing down following the end of the stamp duty holiday and Barratt's growth plans remain on track. The Group is also confident in the medium-term outlook and has put its money where its mouth is by announcing a planned reduction in dividend cover from 2.5x to 1.75x in FY 2024.

The elephant in the room is the cost of the cladding crisis. Barratt is rightly taking full responsibility for remediation works where it remains the 'responsible person' and where Barratt no longer owns the buildings it is working with the current owners to find suitable solutions. Barratt does not believe that leaseholders should have to pay for any necessary remediation works on their buildings.