Shares in Springfield Properties surged after maiden first-half results from the Elgin-based housebuilder showed a large jump in profits and sales.
The firm’s first set of figures since a flotation on the London Stock Exchange’s Alternative Investment Market last October cheered City investors.
Improved profit and revenue expectations for the full year also boosted the shares, which rose by more than 5% to 116.5p.
Sandy Adam, Springfield’s executive chairman, said the company had started the second half of its trading year with a strong order book, adding “sustained market drivers”, including supportive Scottish Government policy, augured well for the firm’s first year as a quoted business.
Mr Adam said: “We have increased revenue from existing sites in both our private housing and affordable divisions, while progressing the development of our pipeline of projects.
“In particular, we have invested in the development of our new villages that will accelerate our building of new homes, private and affordable, in new communities across Scotland.”
Stripping out flotation-related costs of £300,000, pre-tax profits grew by nearly 20% to £3.1million, from £2.6million a year earlier, during the six months to November 30. Revenue in the latest period was up by more than 10%, at £54.8million.
Full-year profits and revenue are expected to come in 5%-10% ahead of previous market estimates.
Broker N+1 Singer lifted its forecast for underlying profits and revenue by 5.7% to £9.6million and by 9.1% to £132.4million respectively, saying the results reflected a strong start to Springfield’s life as a public company.
N+1 Singer analysts James Tetley and Greg Poulton said: “Springfield’s maiden interims confirm a positive H1 trading period and good progress across both the private and affordable housing divisions.
“The outlook statement strikes a confident tone, reflecting the improved visibility that is a feature of the Scottish housing model.”
Springfield, whose current developments include projects in towns along the Moray Firth coast, as well as Tayside, Perthshire and the central belt, built 280 new homes during the six months to November 30, up from 264 a year earlier.
The flotation valued the business at £87million and was part of plans to ramp up construction to 1,000 new homes annually.