National housebuilder Westbury plc has reported a 29% rise in annual pre-tax profits to £93m and is confident volumes will grow at its Space4 modular timber frame factory during the current financial year.

The profits, from a turnover of £790.9m, are up for the 10th straight year in a row.

Westbury says it remains committed to innovation in housebuilding, with continuing labour shortages and government initiatives for a rapid build solution to affordable housing needs providing the potential for its Space4 factory at Castle Bromwich to expand.

The facility actually made a loss of £3.5m for the year, as a result of process and product changes during the first half. The changes limited output to 600 homes, considerably lower than the 1,500 initially intended a year ago.

However, a big volume increase is expected in 2003, with a break-even position envisaged for the second half of the year.

&#8220The fundamentals for our market are still sound although the economic outlook clearly remains uncertain. Notwithstanding we look forward with confidence to the year ahead”

Westbury chairman Geoffrey Maddrell

Space4 can turn out one house shell per hour complete with factory-installed doors and windows and high-performance insulation. Each shell is assembled on site to create a secure, weather-proof, roofed structure within a single working day.

More than 1,000 Space4 homes have been built since the factory became operational in 2001, with customer response described as “excellent”.

Westbury chairman Geoffrey Maddrell described the market as stable but less buoyant than a year ago.

He said: “The fundamentals for our market are still sound although the economic outlook clearly remains uncertain. Notwithstanding we look forward with confidence to the year ahead.”