UK's Crest Nicholson warns on profit amid housing worries

Shares fall 14% to hit lowest level since Sept 2020

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Co says weekly sales per outlet lower than expected

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To reduce overhead positions next fiscal year

Aug 21 (Reuters) - Crest Nicholson on Monday cut its annual profit view, sending shares to a near three-year low as it became the latest UK housebuilder to flag weakening conditions.

Britain's housing sector is facing a pronounced slowdown as high interest rates push up mortgage rates, adding to a squeeze on the finances of prospective homebuyers. The FTSE-listed midcap firm said transaction levels across the industry had weakened in recent weeks, and it did not expect to see a material improvement in trading in the fiscal year ending Oct. 31.

Crest Nicholson shares fell by about 14% to 165 pence, their lowest level since September 2020. The stock was down about 8% as at 0843 GMT.

Earlier in the day, data showed asking prices for homes in Britain fell sharply this month amid rising mortgage costs.

Shares of housebuilders Barratt, Persimmon and Taylor Wimpey were down by between 2.3% and 4%.

Crest Nicholson, which in June reported a more than 60% slump in half-year profit, said weekly sales per outlet for the seven weeks to Aug. 18 stood at 0.25 units, half the 0.50 homes it had forecast for the second-half period.

"The scale of Crest Nicholson's warning may come as a shock to investors given it reported its first-half results just a couple of months ago and this hints at the speed and scale of the deterioration in the market," AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould wrote in a note.

The company now expects full year adjusted profit before tax of around 50 million pounds ($63.7 million), down from a previous forecast of the 73.7 million and about 64% lower than its profit last year.

Crest mid-cap rival Bellway has said new home sales will fall "materially", while Barratt has said it will build around 20% fewer homes in 2024.