Six month profits at Wilson Bowden fall to £98.5m

Wilson Bowden has today (Wednesday) confirmed a drop in pre-tax profit for the first six months of 2005 of £98.5m, down from £113.4m a year erlier. Turnover was also slightly down from £554.9m to £592.9m.

The board said that, while it is too early in the year to be making firm predictions, the financial strength of the balance sheet and expectations for future performance of the company will allow it to consider raising the total full year dividend as appropriate.

Chairman David Wilson said the company's strategy of significantly increasing the number of housing outlets greatly mitigated the pressure in the UK housing market during the first half of 2005. He said the commercial development activities delivered an excellent performance.

"I am confident that we are achieving the correct balance between margin and volume and are taking the right approach to trading in the current conditions," he added.

Wilson said the outlook for the current year remains mixed.