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NATIONAL HOUSEBUILDER BELLWAY p.l.c. TODAY , WEDNESDAY 24 MARCH , ANNOUNCES INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE HALF YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2021 Results Strong first half results ■ ■ ■ Revenue Gross profit Gross margin Operating profit Operating margin Net legacy building safety expense Profit before taxation Earnings per share Interim dividend per share Net asset value per share ( ' NAV ’ ) Return on capital employed Half year ended 31 January 2021 £ 1,720.5m £ 357.5m¹ , 2 20.8 % 1,2 £ 297.7m1,2 17.3 % 1,2 £ 20.3m £ 280.2m 185.9p 35.0p 2,564p² 19.3 % 1,2 Half year ended 31 January 2020 £ 1,541.4m £ 356.5m 23.1 % £ 297.2m 19.3 % £ 291.8m 194.4p Nil 2,467p 19.9 % Movement + 11.6 % + 0.3 % ( 230 bps ) + 0.2 % ( 200 bps ) n / a ( 4.0 % ) ( 4.4 % ) + 100.0 % + 3.9 % ( 60 bps ) Volume growth of 6.3 % to a record 5,656 homes ( 2020 – 5,321 homes ) at the half year , and for the full year , the Board now expects that Bellway will complete the sale of around 10,000 homes ( 31 July 2020-7,522 homes ) . The increase in volume , together with average selling price growth of 5.8 % to £ 303,206 ( 2020 – £ 286,570 ) , has resulted in a 12.5 % increase in housing revenue to a record £ 1,714.9 million ( 2020 - £ 1,524.8 million ) . Strong underlying demand , with a 3.3 % increase in the private reservation rate to 156 per week ( 2020- 151 ) , building upon last year's robust first half trading performance . The operating margin , before net legacy building safety expense , was 17.3 % ¹ , 2 ( 2020 – 19.3 % ) and has been positively influenced by an efficient absorption of overheads due to the strong first half revenue performance . For the full year , the Board now expects that the operating margin , before net legacy building safety expense , will be around 17 % ¹ , 2 ( 31 July 2020 - 14.5 % 5 ) . The balance sheet is strong , with net cash of £ 346.4 million² ( 2020 - £ 4.6 million ) , providing resilience and strategic flexibility . Land creditors remain low , at £ 371.7 million ( 2020 - £ 274.9 million ) . A further £ 20.3 million , net of recoveries , has been set aside to help owners of legacy apartment schemes undertake fire safety improvements . This brings the total amount provided since 2017 , in relation to fire safety , to £ 131.6 million , with £ 91.6 million of this remaining unutilised at 31 January . The interim dividend has been reinstated at 35.0p per share ( 2020 - Nil ) . Operational highlights The Group has retained its status as a five - star homebuilder³ for the fifth consecutive year and our ' Customer First ' programme , designed to enhance the customer experience in respect of construction quality and service levels , will formally launch in April .