Australian residential developer AVJennings says it has returned to profit for the six months to 31 December 2009 on the back of major structural changes and a resilient Australian housing market.

AVJennings says it returned a pre-tax profit of $3.9 million ($3.2 million after tax) due to improved margins, reduced costs and a greater emphasis on project management fees. This compares with a pre-tax loss of $13.8 million ($9.7 million after tax) for the same period last year.

Contract signings were $255.1 million compared with $183.7 million for the same period last year. Total revenues were $239.9 million compared with $241.7 million for the same period last year.

Debt also decreased in the first six months of the current financial period.