Barratt Redrow said it delivered a ‘resilient performance in a subdued market’ during the 26-week period to 28 December, but the numbers just weren’t strong enough to convince investors, and shares fell 7% on Wednesday.
The housebuilder completed 7,444 homes in the 26 weeks to 28 December 2025, up 4.7% on the aggregated comparable period. However, adjusted operating profit edged down 0.3% to £210.2 million, with margins declining to 8.0% from 9.3% previously.
Adjusted pre-tax profit fell 13.6% to £199.9 million, whilst statutory pre-tax profit rose to £156.2 million from £113.4 million, benefiting from reduced integration costs and purchase price allocation adjustments.
“Barratt Redrow delivered a mixed set of first-half results, but there’s hope that momentum can pick up from here,” explained Aarin Chiekrie, equity analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Sales rates only dipped slightly over the period, despite rising uncertainty ahead of the UK Budget back in November. The order book and average selling price have both been trending higher. But that was in part down to Barratt’s increased use of incentives to convince buyers to sign on the dotted line for a new home.”
The market may be a little harsh in sending shares down 7%, given Barratt’s relatively stable sales and a reasonable outlook.
The underlying net private reservation rate held steady at 0.55 compared with 0.54 in the prior period. The overall rate slipped to 0.57 from 0.59, reflecting fewer private rental sector and multi-unit reservations.
Barratt Redrow maintained its strong balance sheet with net cash of £173.9 million after dividends and share buybacks. The company remains on track to deliver its £100 million cost-synergy target from the Redrow integration, with strong progress on revenue-synergy sites.
Forward sales at 1 February stood at 11,168 homes valued at £3.41 billion, up from 10,903 homes worth £3.35 billion a year earlier.
Chief executive David Thomas said the group expects to deliver 17,200-17,800 total completions in FY26, including roughly 600 joint venture completions. Full-year adjusted pre-tax profit is expected within the current range of consensus estimates.