Bovis speeds up comeback from the brink and hails improving profits

Bovis Homes on Wednesday forecast record results in the near future as the company continued its recovery from a crisis which nearly saw it taken over by rivals.

Shares rose 47.8p to 974.6p or 5% as it forecast annual profits “slightly ahead” of City hopes, after boosting margins and selling 3,759 homes in 2018 — up 3% on the prior year.

Chief executive Greg Fitzgerald took the reins at Bovis 18 months ago after a string of profit warnings and shoddy workmanship hitting sales targets trashed the shares and sparked opportunistic bids from Galliford Try and Redrow.

Fitzgerald has improved the quality of its homes, and the firm is on track for a four-star rating from the House Builders’ Federation.

The boss said “early signs are encouraging” so far in 2019 although sales of larger homes suffered in Brexit uncertainty late last year.

Shore Capital’s Robin Hardy said: “Bovis is likely to post a stronger profit performance in the next two to three years than its peers simply because it is putting right a range of issues that have dragged on margins.”