Henry Boot revenue and earnings fall as it gears up for Brexit

(Sharecast News) - Property investment, development and construction company Henry Boot reported revenue of £397.1m in its final results on Friday, which was down from £408.5m year-on-year.The London-listed firm said its profit before tax in the year ended 31 December totalled £48.6m, falling from £55.4m in the prior year, while its earnings per share slipped to 28.3p from 32.1p.Its board proposed a final dividend of 5.80p, up from 5.20p in 2017, which would give a total for the year of 9.00p - a 13% increase over 2017.Net asset value per share increased 12% during the period to 227p, while net debt reduced to £18.4m from £29.0m, with the board reporting "conservative" gearing at 6%, compared to 11% a year earlier.Its strategic land acreage now stood at 14,325 acres, rising from 13,273 acres."The key strategic ethos of Henry Boot is to create long term value and sustainable growth for our stakeholders by financially empowering and commercially developing our people," said chairman Jamie Boot."In 2018 we continued this journey as we delivered yet another strong financial performance, while replenishing the longer-term property development opportunities within the business."Boot said the board expected 2019 to be a "challenging year", as the UK real estate sector adapted to the marketplace following Brexit."Nevertheless, I remain confident that we will achieve sector-leading results, despite the challenges we face, as we continue to build an extensive pipeline of opportunities in each of our businesses."Chief executive officer John Sutcliffe added that the company was continuing to take a "long-term strategic approach" to land promotion and property development, while at the same time focusing on the delivery of the existing pipeline, which he said should enable the company to produce "good results" for the years ahead."2019 has started well throughout the group and will see us delivering significant schemes across the whole spectrum of our strategic land, property investment and development, house building and construction businesses," Sutcliffe added.