Bovis Homes has said on Monday that it was able to generate a profit before tax of £ 16.2 million during the first six months on the year despite a slowdown in the housing market.

The company recorded an increase of 27 per cent in revenues to £170.3 million during the first six months. David Ritchie, chief executive expressed that the company was able to increase earnings despite challenging market conditions in the country.

He said that the challenge involved restriction of higher loan to value mortgage lending, which is preventing new buyers with small savings. The banks in the UK are being cautious and are lending to customers with larger deposits in order to avoid risks.

The government recently launched "funding for lending scheme" of £80 billion, under which, cheap credit is offered to banks so that it can be lent to people looking to buy homes. The scheme is aimed at lending to the housing market and businesses. The government has also launched a NewBuy scheme for people looking to buy a house for the first time. The scheme provides 95 per cent loan-to-value mortgages.

Bovis Homes had taken the advantage of the downturn to purchase cheap properties with good building potential and it also benefitted from lack of housing supply in the UK. Bovis will pay a dividend of 3p a share on November 23.