Persimmon Says Trading In Summer Weeks After EU Referendum Encouraging

(RTTNews) - Home builder Persimmon plc (PSN.L) released its third-quarter trading statement for the period up to 3 November 2016.

The company noted that trading over the summer weeks immediately following the EU Referendum was encouraging, with the number of customers visiting its sites remaining well ahead of last year. Thereafter, with the start of the autumn selling season, customer activity has strengthened in line with the traditional seasonality of the market.

According to Persimmon, its private sales rate in the period since it reported half year results on 23 August 2016 was 19 percent ahead of last year, representing a continuation of the stronger sales rate experienced through the summer weeks.

The company said it was now fully sold up for the current year and has 757 million euros of forward sales reserved beyond 2016, an increase of 4 percent on the same point last year. The company also noted that pricing remained firm across its regional markets.

Looking ahead, the company expects the Group's operating margin to improve in the second half of the year from the 23.8 percent achieved in the first six months.

Persimmons announced a further investment in the Group's manufacturing capability with the construction of our new "Brickworks" factory. The company noted that the new facility will provide a substantial proportion of the Group's requirement for bricks. The factory, located near Doncaster, will be commissioned in the first quarter of 2017.

In order to support future growth, the company plans to open a new regional operating business near Nottingham on 2 January 2017, bringing the total number of new businesses opened in the last two years to five.