The rise was driven by increased delivery of larger homes in attractive locations and house price inflation, the group said.
Profit before tax for the financial year is expected to be about £390m and the group is expected to exceed its 18% ROCE target two years ahead of schedule.
Total forward sales are up by 44.7% at £1,200.5m.
Sales rates were up over the year at 0.69 net private reservations per active site per week. The sales rate in the second half was 0.71 net private reservations per active site per week, marking a rise on 0.66 in 2013.
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Completions for the full year were in line with previous guidance with total completions, including JVs, up 8.6% at 14,838 (2013: 13,663). Private completions were up by 8.7% to 11,936 (2013: 10,978), affordable completions were 2,255 (2013: 2,268), and JV completions in which the Group had an interest were 647 (2013: 417).
Total average selling price increased by c. 13% to c. £220k (2013: £194.8k) in the financial year.
Mark Clare, Group Chief Executive said: "The market remains positive with strong demand for new homes across the country. The land we have acquired in the last five years together with our disciplined operating model is delivering a very strong business performance. Our focused approach to land buying will enable us to maintain a land supply of around 4.5 years and support a significant increase in profitability and return on capital employed."
(IT/MH)
