Persimmon has again performed well during the last eighteen months, considerably reducing debt, improving our operating margin and increasing profits. Throughout this period we have concentrated on cash generation and cost control. This focus and the action we took during 2008 to restructure our business in light of the medium term outlook, has ensured that we remain strong and competitive. The business is well positioned both operationally and financially for a recovering market.
The Group traded well during the six month period to 30 June 2010. We legally completed 4,657 homes, generating sales revenue of £776.6m. Pre-tax profit for the period was £101.4m (stated after goodwill impairment and exceptional items). On 24 August 2010 the Board announced that it intends to pay an interim dividend of 3.0p per share on 14 December 2010, to shareholders on the register on 5 November 2010.
During 2009 we sold 8,976 homes, generating revenue of £1.42bn. We saw a recovery in trading through the year and pre-tax profit for 2009 (before exceptional items and goodwill charge) was £7.0m.
We believe that it is our corporate responsibility to achieve high standards of environmental performance and sustainability. We are particularly pleased that during 2009 we reduced the amount of waste produced by our construction activities by 40%. We also increased the amount of waste we recycled to 75% of waste generated. These improvements in our waste management have brought both environmental and financial benefits.
We continue to provide excellent quality homes and we are pleased that our customer satisfaction survey again showed a high level of customer satisfaction, with over 91% of our customers stating that they would recommend Persimmon to a friend.
The Group’s half year results for the six month period to 30 June 2010 were announced on 24 August 2010 and our final results for the year ended 31 December 2009 were announced on 2 March 2010.