McInerney Holdings' British operations more than trebled their contribution to the bottom line and accounted for almost 25 per cent of the house builder's pre-tax profits in the first six months of the year.
The group posted a strong set of interim figures yesterday, showing sales up 24 per cent to €138.5 million this year from €111.3 million in the comparable period in 2002.
Pre-tax profits were up 17 per cent to €8.53 million from €7.3 million. The accounts show that McInerney's UK house building operation contributed just over €2.1 million to this, up from €584,000 last year. British sales jumped by 250 per cent to €24.9 million this year from €9.9 million in 2002.
McInerney managing director, Mr Barry O'Connor, described the UK performance as the "most significant" number in the results. The group entered the UK at the beginning of last year and said it intended growing the business over the next five years to the point where it equalled its Irish house building operations.
Basic earnings per share rose 20 per cent to 21 cent this year from 17.47 cent in 2002. The board declared an interim dividend of five cent per share.
McInerney completed the sale of 355 houses in the State during the period, 181 in the UK and 34 units in Marbella, Spain.
In a statement, chairman Mr Roy Ferris said the group's sales reflected favourable market conditions and good product positioning. The board was confident of a strong overall result for 2003.
Mr O'Connor said his view of the current housing market was less upbeat than that of other commentators. He said the company's average Irish price was running at €167,000, more than €20,000 lower than some estimates of the average cost of buying a new house in the State.
During the period, Bank of Scotland sold its 24.7 per cent stake in the company for an €18 million profit, while Mr Pat O'Doherty's Harcourt Holdings disposed of a 10.5 per cent holding.
