18th Jun 2026 10:46
(Alliance News) - Mountview Estates PLC on Thursday said operating in the housing market under the current UK government is "not easy", as it posted weaker annual earnings.
The London-based real estate developer reported GBP27.1 million in pretax profit for the financial year ended March 31, down 13% from GBP31.3 million a year earlier.
Revenue edged 0.4% lower to GBP71.8 million from GBP72.1 million, while cost of sales increased 11% to GBP33.3 million from GBP30.0 million, hampering earnings.
"This government's professed intention is to promote growth but its every move has stifled growth and so it is left to us to try and reduce this negative effect," commented Chief Executive Duncan Sinclair.
"We have managed to contain our administrative expenses to the extent that there is a modest saving in this expense. Our net finance costs have been reduced by over twenty percent which is in part a reduction in our purchases but to pay too much for our purchases would be a reckless strategy," the CEO added.
Mountview Estates saw the decrease in fair value of investment properties increase to GBP693,000 from GBP23,000.
Net assets per share were stable at GBP103.2, down marginally from GBP103.3.
The company proposed a flat final dividend of 275p, bringing its total dividend for the financial year to 525 pence, also flat with the prior year.
Shares in the company were up 0.3% at 8,930.00 pence on Thursday morning in London.
"Every chief executive officer likes to start his statement with news of increased turnover and increased profits but operating in the housing market under this government is not easy," said CEO Sinclair.
"We are in a good position to make the right purchases at the right price but we will not make purchases that will struggle to make a proper return. We have a loyal staff and a long-standing shareholder base who should not be sacrificed at the altar of the government's incompetence. I believe that we have a financially sound company that can prosper in a sound economy."
By Christopher Ward, Alliance News reporter
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