31st Oct 2019 09:12
(Alliance News) - Crest Nicholson Holdings PLC said Thursday it expects profit for financial 2020 to be lower than the year before, as a result of "volatile" market conditions and customer uncertainty due to Brexit.
Crest Nicholson shares were 8.3% down in London at 375.63 pence each on Thursday morning.
During the second half of 2019, the housebuilder said it has experienced "a volatile sales environment in some of its regional businesses, driven largely by ongoing customer uncertainty relating to Brexit and the economic outlook in the UK".
Following the appointment of new leadership and new Chief Executive Peter Truscott in September, the company reviewed its operations and now anticipates profit before tax for the twelve months to October to be in the range of GBP110 million to GBP120 million.
In financial 2019, Crest Nicholson reported pretax profit of GBP176.4 million.
The company said this has been felt most in some of the legacy London sites, therefore an adjustment will be made to some of the carrying values of those developments to reflect current market conditions of approximately GBP10 million.
Crest Nicholson also said it has considered the latest UK Government guidance notes regarding fire risk, which will result in exceptional charge of GBP17 million.
The company expects to pay a dividend of 33 pence per share for financial year 2020, "providing the business does not see a significant deterioration in trading conditions." Last year, Crest Nicholson paid out a total dividend of 21.8p.
Truscott said: "We are taking decisive action to ensure the business moves further and faster to make the most of the opportunities in front of it. While current market conditions remain uncertain, the prospects for Crest Nicholson over the medium term remain highly attractive."
By Loreta Juodagalvyte; [email protected]
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