Shares of Newcastle-based house builder Bellway rose more than 3% on Tuesday after it said its pre-tax profits climbed 16.6% to £288.7 million for the six months to January 31.

Revenue rose 15.3% to £1.3 billion. Interim dividend per share soared 28% to 48p.

The number of homes sold jumped 6.3% to 4,741 — and the average selling price grew 7.7% to £275,945.

Executive chairman John Watson said: “This has been another excellent six-month trading period for Bellway, during which our strong operational focus has resulted in further volume growth, imminent retention of our status as a five-star home-builder and a very strong financial performance, culminating in earnings per share rising by a further 16.9% to 191.6p.

“The group has invested significantly in land to achieve future growth, in a market place in which customer demand is robust and mortgage availability remains good.

“This positive trading environment, together with a substantial order book, bodes well for the full year and should enable the group to complete in excess of 10,000 new homes.”