Persimmon lifted by first-time buyers

Monday 2 July 2012

HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon will be looked to for more signs of resilient trading, after it underlined its "excellent prospects" earlier this year by setting aside £1.9 billion to return to shareholders over the next decade.

Custom byline text:

WEEK AHEAD

The group, which will provide a trading update tomorrow, has ridden out the weak housing market by focusing on building homes in affluent areas and more recently has benefited from a resurgence in the first-time buyer market.

Keith Bowman, an analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The coming update is expected to see a continuation of positive trends."Sales levels are forecast to have remained strong, with the group's profit margin benefiting from the usage of more recently acquired cheaper land."The City expects first-half pre-tax profits of £75.3 million, up 29.6% on the previous year.Catalogue and online shopping group N Brown is set to report robust trading figures tomorrow as it benefits from trends that have seen the population grow older and heavier.The Manchester-based group – which owns the Simply Be, High & Mighty, Figleaves, Marisota and Jacamo brands – reported a 2.5% increase in pre-tax profits to £96.9m in the year to March 3, on sales up 4.8% to £753.2m.Like-for-like sales grew by 0.6% in the first eight weeks of its new financial year, which was lower than the 1.6% rate over the previous 12 months.However, it said the recent spate of retail casualties would boost its sales, and its performance is expected to be strong in its first quarter.A company that makes half the gift wrap sold in the UK is expected to report a sharp rise in profits on Wednesday.International Greetings, which is the official supplier of Christmas crackers to the Queen and also makes cards and stationery, has said profits for the year to the end of March will be at the top end of City expectations. The company, which was formed in 1979 and now sells in 20 countries, has benefited from strong sales of "value" cards, helped by being listed in discount stores and supermarkets such as Tesco and Asda.

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Persimmon lifted by first-time buyers

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED