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Housing construction group Vistry swung to a first-half profit and upgraded its annual guidance after home completions rebounded due to an easing of lockdowns.
The company reinstated its interim dividend and dangled the prospect of a special dividend or share buyback, citing the strength of its balance sheet.
Pre-tax profit for the six months through June amounted to £156.2 million, compared to a year-on-year loss of £12.2 million.
Revenue jumped 82% to £1.10 billion, as home completions climbed 76% to 5,351.
Adjusted pre-tax profit soared to £166.1 million, from £10.3 million, which the company said was ahead of its expectations.
For the full year, Vistry said its expectations for adjusted pre-tax profit had increased to about £345 million, or 5% ahead of consensus market expectations.
The company declared an interim dividend of 20p per share and said it expected to sustain ordinary dividend cover at two times.
'Any surplus capital, following land investment and the payment of the ordinary dividend, is expected to be returned to the group's shareholders through either a share buyback or special dividend,' it added.