Interim Results

Barratt Developments PLC
23 March 2005




23 March 2005

                            BARRATT DEVELOPMENTS PLC
                Results for the half year ended 31 December 2004

Highlights:

   • UK turnover £1,148.2m (2003: £1,092.1m) up by 5%
   • Pre-tax profit £171.1m (2003: £142.6m) up by 20%
   • Earnings per share 51.1p (2003: 43.6p) up by 17%
   • Interim dividend 8.99p (2003: 6.9p) up by 30%
   • Full year dividend expected to be raised by about 25%
   • ROACE was 34%
   • UK housebuild operating margin increased to 14.3% (2003: 13.3%)
   • UK completions rose to 6,866 (2003: 6,705)
   • Average selling price of £165,600 (2003: £161,700)
   • 82% of homes on brownfield land
   • 8,974 plots acquired and land stocks stand at 59,443 plots - 4 years supply
   • Net cash increased to £149.8m (2003: £25.0m net cash)
   • Record forward sales of £1 billion (2003: £833m)

Charles Toner, Chairman of Barratt Developments commented: 'It has been another
period of significant progress for Barratt, with further growth in completions,
margins and profits producing another set of record results - for the 13th
consecutive year. In calendar 2004 we again built more homes in total and more
homes on brownfield sites than any other developer. We are confident of another
successful full year and are well placed for the future.'

David Pretty, Group Chief Executive of Barratt Developments commented: 'Whilst
the market has been more demanding, we have successfully adapted to the new,
more competitive environment and have increased our forward sales. It is still
too early to predict the market throughout 2005 but I can confirm that sales in
all our regions have been encouraging since the beginning of the second half.
Our forward sales now stand at a record £1bn and, with completions to date, this
secures 90% of our full year projection. On current form, I am confident that we
will achieve another record year.'

For further information please contact:
Barratt Developments PLC
David Pretty, Group Chief Executive             On the day: 020 7067 0700
Colin Dearlove, Group Finance Director          Thereafter: 0191 286 6811
Weber Shandwick Square Mile
Terry Garrett/Chris Lynch                                   020 7067 0700

The financial analysts' presentation slides will be available on the Barratt
corporate website:
           www.barratt-investor-relations.co.uk from 10.30 am today.

CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT


The half year was another period of significant progress, with further growth in
completions, margins and profits producing another set of record results for the
Group - for the 13th consecutive year. We are confident of another successful
full year and are well placed for the future.

The main features of the results for the half year ended 31 December 2004, with
comparisons to the same period last year, are as follows:-

   • Pre-tax profit rose 20% to £171.1m against £142.6m.

   • Basic earnings per share amounted to 51.1p against 43.6p, up 17%.

   • An interim dividend of 8.99p per share will be paid, on 20 May 2005, to
     shareholders on the register on 29 April 2005, against 6.9p the previous
     year, an increase of 30%, 5.7 times covered. This rate of increase is not
     indicative of the total dividend for the year, containing as it does a
     significant element of re-balancing of the dividend between the interim and
     final payments. In the absence of unforeseen circumstances, we would expect
     to recommend an increase in the total dividend for the year in the region 
     of 25%.

   • UK completions rose to 6,866 homes, up 2%, at an overall average selling
     price of £165,600, up 2%.

   • Turnover on continuing UK operations rose 5% to £1,148.2m against
     £1,092.1m last year.

   • UK housebuild operating margin increased from 13.3% to 14.3%.

   • Net cash in hand increased from £25.0m to £149.8m. This was achieved
     notwithstanding an £87.1m increased investment in land stocks and work in
     progress.

   • UK land stocks, including plots agreed, increased by over 3,000 plots to
     59,443 plots, equating to four years' supply.

   • Return on average capital employed was 34%, once more amongst the
     highest in the industry.

   • Record forward sales, which have now increased to £1 billion. With
     completions to date secures 90% of our full year projection.

We are well positioned in the market place, with a wide product range enabling
us to provide homes from around £80,000 to £2.0m, but with an average selling
price of £165,600. Together with our wide geographic spread throughout Britain,
this provides us with a broad appeal and also ensures we are not over dependent
on any one market sector or geographic area. We also made further progress to
consolidate our position as Britain's leading urban regenerator with over 80% of
our homes now built on brownfield land. This allows us to benefit from the
Government's increasing emphasis on regeneration.

Total completions rose 2%, although private completions were 8% lower at 5,610
homes. However, social housing completions more than doubled to 1,256 homes.
This is another growing sector where we have considerable expertise.

In this regard, we are pleased to announce that we are one of the three winning
consortia chosen to deliver the Government's London Wide Initiative, which will
provide vitally needed key-worker housing on brownfield land across London. As
part of the Key London Alliance Consortium, Barratt is working with English
Partnerships, the national regeneration agency, to kick-start the initiative
with an initial phase of 1,000 new homes.

After the previous over-heated markets, sales activity moderated in the period
as it adjusted to more modest price rises and a normal level of activity. This
adjustment was not unexpected and was welcome since it will provide a more
stable and sustainable market for the future. We anticipated, and prepared for,
these more competitive conditions. Whilst it is too early to predict the market
throughout 2005, sales interest and activity in all our regions has been
encouraging since 1 January and is currently sufficient for us to achieve our
goals. Forward sales now stand at a record £1 billion and with completions to
date this secures 90% of our full year projection.

The fundamentals of the housing market remain sound, with historically low
interest rates, good employment levels and restricted supply due to planning
delays. Furthermore, stable prices, or modest price rises, in the year ahead
should continue to increase buyer confidence and improve affordability. This
will benefit house buyers and housebuilders alike.

Our geographic spread and brownfield expertise consistently increase our
landbuying opportunities. As a result, and despite our ongoing prudence in the
land market, we continued to secure quality sites in good locations. During the
half year we acquired 8,974 plots, increasing our land stocks to 51,443 plots. A
further 8,000 plots are agreed subject to contract giving an overall land bank
of 59,443 plots, which currently equates to four years' supply. Although the
planning environment remains very difficult, we now have planning permissions in
place for over 85% of our 2005/06 requirement and have been successful in
winning sufficient approvals to continue our steady increase in selling outlets.
Subject to planning progress, we expect these to increase to circa 455 by summer
2005.

On 30 August 2004, we successfully completed the disposal of our small Southern
California operation in line with the Group's strategy to focus on our UK
operations. An impairment provision of £7.5m was made in the accounts for the
year to 30 June 2004. The gross disposal proceeds of £90m are being selectively
invested in urban renewal projects in key UK growth areas.

We remain committed to further improvements in all aspects of the service
provided to our customers. We also support the House Builders' Federation in its
work to establish a national survey of the industry's future performance, in
response to the issues raised in the Barker Report. We are building on the
progress made on customer satisfaction since the introduction of our new
Customer Care programme a year ago. We continue to seek further improvements
and, accordingly, the programme will be regularly reviewed.

I am very pleased to confirm that our site construction staff won a record
number of NHBC Pride in the Job Awards for quality workmanship, with two of our
Site Managers achieving national recognition.

We continue to lead the industry in apprentice training with over 550 young
people receiving instruction on our sites in a wide range of skills. Our
Graduate Trainee Scheme is also running well, with 55 entrants embarked on
fast-track careers. This training will help address the industry's shortage of
skilled labour and is a valuable investment in our future success.

To summarise, our teams across the country have, once again, successfully
adjusted to new market conditions and have achieved a record performance. Our
core strengths and wide expertise continue to benefit us greatly. We have strong
finances, a high quality land bank, record forward sales and we look to the
future with great confidence.



Charles Toner
Chairman
23 March 2005

For further information please contact:

Barratt Developments PLC
David Pretty, Group Chief Executive             On the day: 020 7067 0700
Colin Dearlove, Group Finance Director          Thereafter: 0191 286 6811

Weber Shandwick Square Mile
Terry Garrett/Chris Lynch                                   020 7067 0700

The financial analysts' presentation slides will be available on the Barratt
corporate website: www.barratt-investor-relations.co.uk from 10.30 am today,
together with photographic images of Charles Toner, David Pretty and a selection
of Barratt developments.

Further copies of the announcement can be obtained from the Company Secretary's
office at:

Barratt Developments PLC
Wingrove House
Ponteland Road
Newcastle upon Tyne NE5 3DP

The following are the unaudited results of the Group for the half year ended
31st December 2004.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Group Profit and Loss Account      Half year ended    Half year ended   Year ended
                                        31st December      31st December    30th June
                                                 2004               2003         2004
                                                   £m                 £m           £m
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Turnover - Continuing operations              1,148.2            1,092.1      2,343.1
         - Discontinued operations               28.0               82.4        172.9
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Group Turnover                                1,176.2            1,174.5      2,516.0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Operating profit - Before exceptional items     165.8              139.3        364.2
                 - Exceptional items, profit
                   on disposal of freehold 
                   ground rents                   6.4                  -            -
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 - Continuing operations        172.2              139.3        364.2
                 - Discontinued operations        0.4                8.3         11.4
-------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------
Operating profit                                172.6              147.6        375.6

Net interest payable                             (1.5)              (5.0)        (7.9)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profit on ordinary activities before taxation   171.1              142.6        367.7
Taxation                                        (51.3)             (40.7)      (107.2)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profit on ordinary activities after taxation    119.8              101.9        260.5
Dividends                                       (21.1)             (16.1)       (51.4)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retained profit                                  98.7               85.8        209.1
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Earnings per share - basic                       51.1p              43.6p       111.4p
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Earnings per share - diluted                     50.5p              43.3p       110.1p
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dividend per share                               8.99p              6.90p       21.58p
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dividend cover                                    5.7x               6.3x         5.2x
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2. Statement of Total Recognised      Half year ended   Half year ended    Year ended
   Gains and Losses                     31st December     31st December     30th June
                                                 2004              2003          2004
                                                   £m                £m            £m
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Profit on ordinary activities after taxation    119.8             101.9         260.5
Currency translation differences on foreign
currency net investments                            -              (3.4)         (3.9)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total gains and losses recognised in period     119.8              98.5         256.6
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
3. Group Balance Sheet                         At               At          At
                                    31st December    31st December   30th June
                                             2004             2003        2004
                                               £m               £m          £m
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fixed assets
Tangible assets                              11.8             11.2        11.9
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current assets
    Properties held for sale                  7.9              8.5         9.7
    Stocks                                2,156.9          1,824.1     1,977.0
    Debtors due within one year              40.7             39.8        41.6
    Debtors due after more than one year      2.0              1.2         1.3
    Bank and cash                           161.6            182.8       230.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                          2,369.1          2,056.4     2,260.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Current liabilities
    Creditors due within one year        (1,079.8)          (968.0)   (1,066.0)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net current assets                        1,289.3          1,088.4     1,194.0
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total assets less current liabilities     1,301.1          1,099.6     1,205.9

Creditors due after more than one year      (88.4)          (105.5)      (89.8)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net assets                                1,212.7            994.1     1,116.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Capital and reserves
    Share capital                            24.0             23.9        24.0
    Share premium                           192.0            189.1       190.7
    Profit retained                         996.7            781.1       901.4
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Equity shareholders' funds                1,212.7            994.1     1,116.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net assets per share                          505p             416p        465p
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4. Group Cash Flow Statement      Half year ended  Half year ended    Year ended
                                    31st December    31st December     30th June
                                             2004             2003          2004
                                               £m               £m            £m
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net cash (outflow)/ inflow from 
 operating activities
    Operating profit                        172.6            147.6         375.6
    Increase in stocks                     (282.6)          (100.6)       (254.4)
    Increase in debtor                       (8.1)            (2.8)         (6.8)
    Increase/(decrease) in creditors         82.7            (26.6)        147.5
    Other non cash movements                  2.6             (0.4)          0.8
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            (32.8)            17.2         262.7
Returns on investments and servicing 
 of finance                                  (1.4)            (5.5)        (11.5)
Taxation                                    (52.9)           (43.8)        (98.7)
Capital expenditure and financial 
 investment                                  (4.2)             0.2          (5.4)
Acquisitions and disposals                   84.5                -             -
Equity dividends paid                       (34.4)           (28.8)        (45.0)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Cash (outflow)/inflow before financing      (41.2)           (60.7)        102.1
Financing                                    (7.6)             2.9         (15.4)
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(Decrease)/increase in cash                 (48.8)           (57.8)         86.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reconciliation of net cash flow to 
 movement in net funds
    (Decrease)/increase in net 
     cash, including overdraft              (48.8)           (57.8)         86.7
    Cash flow from decrease/(increase) in
     funds                                    8.9             (0.8)         19.1
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Change in net funds resulting from 
 cashflows                                  (39.9)           (58.6)        105.8
Exchange movements                              -              2.0           2.3
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Movement in net funds in the period         (39.9)           (56.6)        108.1
Net funds at 1st July                       189.7             81.6          81.6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Net funds at 31st December/30th June        149.8             25.0         189.7
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The financial information set out above does not constitute statutory accounts
within the meaning of the Companies Act 1985. The figures for the year to 30th
June 2004 are an extract from the full accounts for that year, which have been
filed with the Registrar of Companies and on which the auditors gave an
unqualified opinion.

The interim financial information has been prepared on the basis of accounting
policies adopted for the year ended 30th June 2004. These policies are set out
in the company's Annual Report and Accounts.

Work on the changes required for the implementation of International Financial
Reporting Standards continues to ensure compliance for the interim results for
the six months to 31st December 2005. The major areas of change relate to
accounting for pension costs, share based payments, financial instruments and
the timing of dividend payment recognition.





                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange