Profits surge at Persimmon as turnover hits £1.5bn

Pre-tax profit at Persimmon, the FTSE 100 housebuilder, rose 16% to £271.5m in the first six months of the year, thanks to its acquisition of Westbury.

Turnover to the end of June rose 42% to £1.5bn.

Completions at the UK’s biggest housebuilder grew by 38% to 8226 units compared with 5954 units over the same period last year.

The company said that the integration of Westbury was ahead of schedule. Synergy savings from the acquisition had accelerated to £10m in the first half of the year with at least a further £20m expected in the second half. Savings in excess of £40m are expected for 2007 and beyond.

John White, group executive chairman said: “The integration of Westbury has been completed ahead of expectations and the group is well placed to take advantage of a strong and stable housing market.”