<p>Persimmon completed 14,572 homes in 2015, 8% up on the year before, as the firm delivered a 34% increase in pre-tax profit to £637.8 million.</p> <p>Announcing its final results for the year ton February 23, the firm said operating margin reached 21.9% and revenue hit £2.9 billion. It opened more than 250 new sites in the 12 month period (2014: 185).</p> <p>The firm also said that customer activity in the first seven weeks of 2016 has been encouraging with visitors up 12% year on year, cancellations low and the weekly private sales rate 13% ahead of 2015.</p> <p>Persimmon group chairman Nicholas Wrigley said: "It is now four years since we launched our long term strategy focused on growing Persimmon into a stronger, larger business while maintaining capital discipline and delivering robust free cash generation. The group's ability to grow completion volumes by more than 55% through this period while simultaneously returning £733 million of excess capital to shareholders underlines the strength of its operating model. </p> <p>"Customer activity in the early weeks of the 2016 spring season has been encouraging and today's further £860 million enhancement to the capital return plan to a total of £9 per share is a …