Edinburgh-based Miller Group back in black as confidence is building HOUSEBUILDER Miller Group returned to profit in the first half of the year and predicted continued growth despite the challenging market conditions. However, chief executive Keith Miller warned that any real improvement in the housing sector can only be delivered if lenders change their strategies over the availability and pricing of mortgages. For the six months to 30 June, the Edinburgh-based construction group posted a pre-tax profit of £400,000, compared with a loss of £52.9 million a year earlier, on revenues 7 per cent higher at £262.5m. Revenues at its housing arm were largely flat at £124.8m, although the average selling price improved to £170,000 from £154,000 a year earlier. The figures came the day after Scottish housebuilder Cala posted a full-year pre-tax profit of £11.4m - its highest since being taken private in 1999 - as it benefited from its focussing on the premium end of the market. Miller said government-backed schemes such as NewBuy - which help those with small deposits secure a mortgage - were "very helpful and supportive" for the industry, but added: "Until we see a significant improvement in money supply, I think we'll see house sales remain somewhat subdued, ­although there is a massive ­underlying demand." While he said mortgage lenders were doing all they can to free up more money for prospective home buyers, more could be done to help get people on the housing ladder. "The number one thing that drives house sales is confidence, which is slowly building as we see the eurozone crisis being tackled more robustly, but we're not seeing the volume of mortgages coming through that we'd like to see," Miller said. He said visitor numbers to the firm's sites had picked up since the "distractions" of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic Games, and the group would invest £55m in new land over the second half of the year. Miller's construction division fell to a loss of £800,000 from a profit of £1.4m a year ago, which the firm attributed to higher business development spending. The increased expenditure resulted in the division securing orders worth £320m during the first half, bringing its total order book to £805m - an increase of 34 per cent since 2011. Philip Bowman, who replaced Sir Brian Stewart as chairman earlier this year, said the group was well funded since its £160m refinancing in March, which brought in private equity outfit GSO Capital Partners as its majority shareholder. Net debt stood at £217m at 30 June, down sharply from £731.9m a year ago. Bowman said: "I am confident the management team will continue to build on the steady progress that they have made."