Telford Homes : says profits set to rise by over 17 percent this year

(Reuters) - London-focused housebuilder Telford Homes reported a 5.9 percent rise in pretax profits to 34.1 million pounds on Wednesday and said it was on track for a rise to over 40 million pounds in the current year and 50 million the following year.

The company, which also reported a 19 percent rise in revenue to 291.9 million pounds, said it had already secured more than 80 percent of anticipated gross profits for the year ending next March with an increased focus on building rental homes and said demand would continue to outpace supply in the non-prime areas of the capital in the "foreseeable future".

The company increased its total dividend payout for the year by just over 10 percent to 15.7 pence a share, including a final dividend of 8.5 pence and said it remained confident in delivering continued growth, supported by the chronic shortage of homes in London.

"Notwithstanding some uncertainty created by the outcome of the EU referendum we have experienced robust demand for our homes from individual investors and owner occupiers", Telford said.

(Reporting by Rahul B in Bengaluru; Editing by Greg Mahlich)