Barratt profits slump on weak demand, mortgage rates

(Sharecast News) - House builder Barratt reported a sharp fall in annual profit, citing cost-of-living pressures, much higher mortgage rates and limited consumer confidence. The company on Wednesday said pre-tax profit slumped to £170.5m from £705m, with completions down 18.6% to 14,000.

On an adjusted basis, pre-tax profit fell 56.5% to £385m for the year to June 30, compared with average forecasts of £365m. The annual dividend was more than halved to 16.2p a share.

"Given the profile of land acquisition over the past 24 months, we expect to see a short-term reduction in average outlets which will result in the delivery of 13,000 to 13,500 homes in full-year 2025," Barratt said.

"Whilst demand continues to be sensitive to mortgage affordability, and reduced land buying activity during the past two years has had a near-term impact on the number of outlets we are operating from, we are well-positioned to meet the strong underlying demand for new homes of all tenures in the UK."

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com