LONDON (Alliance News) - Shares in estate agency and property services group Countrywide PLC fell on Thursday after the company said its pretax profit fell heavily in the first half of 2015 thanks to a fall in transaction volumes in the first half due to a slowdown in the housing market.
Countrywide's group revenue in the first half was up to GBP338.6 million from GBP334.5 million in the half, but a 12% decline in transation volumes in the half meant that its pretax profit fell to GBP289 million from GBP37.1 million, a fall of 22%.
The company said it would pay a flat interim dividend of 5 pence per share, but said it expects an improvement in market conditions in the second half amid indications of a recovery in volumes emerging towards the end of the first half.
"As anticipated, the first half of the year saw depressed activity in the UK residential sales market as UK consumers held back from making decisions pending the outcome of the most uncertain General Election in a generation. However, the benefits of our strategy to diversify the group's revenue streams were underlined by Countrywide's ability to ride those challenges with 50% of our profits derived from sources independent of the UK housing transaction market," said Chief Executive Alison Platt.
Shares in Countrywide were down 8.4% to 506.5 pence in early trade, the worst performer in the FTSE 250.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
Copyright 2015 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.
