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* Expects up to 32% fall in 2019 profit
* Trims value of London holdings by 10 million pounds
* Shares down 11%, rivals also slip by about 1%
(Adds detail, share prices, analyst comment)
By Pushkala Aripaka and Yadarisa Shabong
Oct 31 (Reuters) - British homebuilder Crest Nicholson
on Thursday warned that annual profit would fall by a
third as prices flatten on Brexit-hit consumer confidence and as
the company's new leadership embarks on changes to the business.
The company, which builds houses and flats in London and
across the southern half of England, said new Chief Executive
Peter Truscott wants to develop more projects and rely less on
land sales in the coming years.
Crest Nicholson now expects to make pretax profit of between
120 million pounds ($155.2 million) and 130 million pounds for
the year to Oct. 31, down as much as 32% year on year.
Analysts had expected pretax profit of 152.9 million pounds
this year, Refinitiv data shows, and shares in the company
tumbled 11% in response.
Shares of rivals Bovis Homes, Berkeley,
Barratt Development and Persimmon all fell by
about 1%.
"While current market conditions remain uncertain, the
prospects for Crest Nicholson over the medium term remain highly
attractive," said Truscott, who took the reins in September.
Homebuilders, seen as among the businesses most vulnerable
to a no-deal Brexit, have warned repeatedly of pressures from
the uncertainty over the proposed departure from the Europoean
Union. Barratt this month reporting a dip in values of homes
sold while signs of weakening prices also chimed with warnings
from Bellway.
UK house prices rose at the slowest pace in more than six
years last month and Crest said it would trim the value of its
older London sites by 10 million pounds.
"The company 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," it said in a statement.
British voters will go to the polls in December after Prime
Minister Boris Johnson failed to force through a deal to leave
the EU in time for Thursday's third Brexit deadline.
Crest, which has been also hit by higher building costs,
expects to take a 17 million pound cash charge in the current
financial year related to change in government guidance on
combustible materials.
It also said profit for its 2020 financial year would be
between 110 million and 120 million pounds and expects earnings
to recover in 2021 as its strategy begins to pay off, adding
that Crest would continue to pay a dividend of 33 pence per
share next year.
Liberum analysts pointed to Truscott's track record of
margin improvement at previous employer Linden Homes.
"While the timing of the trading update surprises, it can be
argued the resetting of expectations by the new management team
is not," said analysts at brokerage Jefferies.
($1 = 0.7732 pounds)
(Reporting by Pushkala Aripaka and Yadarisa Shabong in
Bengaluru
Editing by Shounak Dasgupta and David Goodman)
