BARRATT Developments has reported a lacklustre growth in sales and a dip in value of houses sold in the first months of its new financial year.
The developer finished more than 3,250 homes in the last 15 weeks against 2,852 last year and is due to sell nearly 13,000 for more than £3 billion over the financial year.
It said the average value of the homes it is set to deliver is around £236,800, down from £243,900 last year.
Forward sales are flat at £3.1 million in value.
One of Britain’s largest home builders, Barratt Developments, said it has the cash to deal with Brexit fallout in the housing sector.
READ MORE: Barratt to increase use of Scottish timber frames
The sector’s economic outlook depends on how Britain leaves the EU, Barratt said, but insisted its net cash balance and the homes it is set to sell this year means it has the “resilience and flexibility to react” to changes next year and beyond.
Barratt chief executive David Thomas said the company has started its financial year well, showing “a good sales rate and a healthy forward order book”.
He said: “As the only major housebuilder to be awarded a 5 Star rating for customer satisfaction for ten years in a row, we continue to lead the industry in quality and customer service.
“Whilst there is economic and political uncertainty, we continue to be disciplined and have a strong balance sheet and cash position which we believe provide us with the resilience and flexibility to react to potential changes in the operating environment in FY20 and beyond."
READ MORE: Barratt delivers record results
He added: “We maintain our focus on the delivery of operational improvements across our business, and our commitment to deliver the highest quality homes across the country.”
Charlie Campbell, a Liberum analyst, said that Barratt’s performance was “very creditable”.
However, Shore Capital’s Robin Hardy was less generous, saying that a 14% uptick in completions was down to “just timing” adding “the board has persuaded the market that it is going to overcome the market pressures”.
READ MORE: 3,400 new homes by Barratt in pipeline
The firm earlier flagged ambitions to expand the use of timber frames across England and Wales in wake of the summer acquisition of the Scottish Borders-based maker Oregon Timber Frame.
It said that, over the last three years, it has built 5,274 homes using timber frames, with the majority in Scotland. Shares in Barratt, which were at a two-year high on Tuesday, fell 2.7 per cent to 664.8p on Wednesday’s news.
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