British housebuilder Bovis Homes posted a slump in underlying pretax profit but confirmed a growing trend of stabilisation in the UK housing market.
Bovis, one of the smaller housebuilders by market value, reported an adjusted pre-tax profit of £1.2 million in the six months to end-June, compared with £11.7 million in the same period the previous year.
The company reported writedowns of £8.9 million, which it flagged in a trading update in July, helping push the company into the red with a pre-tax loss of £8.6 million.
But Bovis said it made good progress in the first half of the year, boosted by its private sales rate and lowering its debt, leaving the group well positioned to invest in land.
UK peers Bellway and Taylor Wimpey both posted positive trading updates earlier this month, supporting data that there is growing stability in the UK housing market.
Reuters
