LONDON (Alliance News) - Estate agent Countrywide PLC said Tuesday it expects its half-year profit to be "slightly better" than previously anticipated after slashing forecasts in late June.
For the six months ended June, adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation was "slightly better" than it had previously guided.
In late June, Countrywide had said it expected its adjusted Ebitda to be around GBP20 million below what it reported the year prior. It did not expect to recover this shortfall in the second half of the year.
For the half year ended June 2017, Countrywide generated GBP28.1 million adjusted Ebitda on total income of GBP333.0 million.
The firm added it had made "significant" progress in building up industry expertise and staffing levels in its sales and lettings business. This has resulted in a rise in the number of properties available for sale and the pipeline of agreed sales. It expects to continue to make progress in the second half of the year.
Countrywide added it was continuing to have "constructive dialogue" with its lenders and shareholders with regards it proposed long-term capital structure. It hopes to announce both its interim results and details of its capital structure plan on August 2.
In late June, Countrywide proposed to seek to reduce its indebtedness by "at least" 50% through equity financing in order to support its turnaround plan.
Shares in Countrywide were 5.7% higher at 51.70 pence on Tuesday.
