YORK housebuilder Persimmon has said it is well-positioned for the upturn as it records “excellent” final results.

The group increased pre-tax profits to £153.9 million in the year ending December 31, from £77.8 million in 2009. It increased turnover from £1.42 billion to £1.57 billion.

John White, group chairman, said the company had delivered “excellent” performance, reflecting the business’ strategy of firm cost control, maximisation of sales revenues and pursuit of strong cash generation.

"Despite a continuing low level of mortgage approvals, the group is achieving improving returns and remains well positioned for the upturn in the housing market when it occurs," he said.

The business reduced debt by more than £215 million and legally completed the sale of 9,384 new homes, up on 8,976 in 2009. It reinstated a dividend, paying shareholders a final dividend of 4.5p per share, making the total for the year 7.5p per share.

“We continue to open new developments and where we do so, benefit from good demand. Whilst we apply caution to all our investments, the current levels of visitors to our developments and the interest in our homes is encouraging. Of course, we would like to see an increase in mortgage approvals and an increase in loan to value products for first time buyers. However, the organisation, scale and cost base of the group enable us to operate successfully at the current levels of activity,” he added.