LONDON (Alliance News) - Property management services company HML Holdings PLC on Monday said higher one-off charges meant its pretax profit was broadly flat in the first half, despite a rise in revenue and confidence that the restructuring it undertook in the first half will feed through into benefits in the second.
HML said its pretax profit for the half to the end of September was GBP614,000, compared to GBP611,000 a year earlier. Revenue rose to GBP9.0 million from GBP8.3 million, but this was offset by higher restructuring costs and lower transactional fees.
The company said it incurred additional restructuring costs related to the relocation of surveyors to its property management business offices. Transactional fees, however, were lower than anticipated in the first half, tracking a wider slowdown for the estate agency sector as stamp duty changes in the UK constrain sales activity at the top end of the property market.
"HML remains confident that the investments we have made, and are continuing to make, in our infrastructure will yield further improvements in revenues and earnings," the company said.
Shares in HML were down 13% to 35.00 pence on Monday morning, one of the worst performers in the AIM All-Share.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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