Persimmon sees profits lift 29% to £352.3m

Housebuilder Persimmon saw"robust trading" in the first six months of the year, despite fears that the UK's vote to leave Europe would slow the residential property market.

The Yorkshire-based firm said half-year pre-tax profit to the end of June lifted 29% to £352.3m ($464.2m) compared to a year ago, as the numbers of potential home buyers visiting its sites jumped by around 20%.

It added that sales rose 12% to 1.49bn after the number of homes it completed grew by 6% to 7,238 during the period. Average selling prices also lifted by 6% to £205,762.

Shares in property companies have been hit hard following the Brexit vote on June 23, amid fears house prices will fall.

But Persimmon chief executive Jeff Fairburn said: "While the result of the EU Referendum has created increased economic uncertainty, customer interest since then has been robust with visitor numbers to our sites around 20% ahead year on year."

"The group is now trading through the traditionally slower summer weeks but customer demand remains encouraging and we anticipate a good autumn sales season."

The firm did admit it saw "a modest increase" in cancellations in the week following the referendum result, but added that this rate returned to normal levels, and is currently running slightly lower than the same period last year.

It added that the UK economy currently enjoys "resilient employment levels and some improvement in real disposable incomes".

The group said mortgage loan approvals remain at around 198,000 during the second quarter of the year, similar to the same period last year which was buoyed by last year's general election result.