Following a loss in the same period last year, building giant Miller Group has reported a profit for the first half of the year2012.

The Scottish firm made a pre-tax profit of £400,000, compared with a loss of £52.9m in 2011.

During the period, the Edinburgh based Miller Group, completed a £160m re-finance package.

The group, which now has net assets of £228m, said it had accelerated investment in new land.

Three of the groups four divisions – housing, construction, property and mining – increased profits during the period, construction being the only one not to benefit.

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Its core housing division reported an operating profit of £4.4m compared with a £35.2m loss in 2011.

"We're very positive about the long-term future of housing,” chief executive Keith M Miller CBE told BBC Scotland.

"There's a massive under-supply of housing, particularly for first time buyers and in the affordable sector - so we're seeing a long-term strength of demand and a realignment of prices.

"Houses have never been such good value as they are at the moment and we're finding land easier to secure."

He warned that although the company expected to increase its margins and profits, a "real improvement" in the housing market would only start if there was a change in "lenders' strategies regarding the availability and pricing of mortgages".

(H)