By Sam Wilkin
LONDON (Reuters) - Strong demand for homes drove up earnings and revenue at British construction group Galliford Try (LONDON:GFRD) Plc in its first half and allowed the group to reward shareholders with a near 50 percent dividend hike.
Its shares touched an all time high of 1,469 pence and were up 5.3 percent at 1,439 pence at 0840 GMT on Wednesday.
Profit before tax rose 12 percent to 42.5 million pounds in the first half of its financial year compared with the same period last year, while revenue was up 35 percent at 1.1 billion. The group said it would raise its interim dividend 47 percent to 22 pence per share.
Executive Chairman Greg Fitzgerald highlighted the company's Partnerships unit dedicated to affordable housing ahead of a national election in May in which house prices are a key voter concern.
Partnerships revenue grew 56 percent to 157.6 million pounds in the half year, while turnover in the larger Linden Homes unit grew 5 percent to 346.1 million.
Fitzgerald said the coalition government had performed strongly on housing and the opposition Labour party could provide even more support to the sector if it came to power, particularly in affordable housing.
"I'm as relaxed as I've ever been leading up to an election because housing is so important for the country and for the rest of the economy," he said.
The group's construction business had a record order book of 3.25 billion pounds after the acquisition last year of Miller Construction.
The company's debt fell to 35.9 million pounds from 85.9 million despite an expansion of its land bank to 14,300 plots.
Fitzgerald said the plots were enough to accommodate all building until the end of 2016, and 70 percent of 2017 requirements, but Galliford would keep acquiring land slightly faster than it was building.