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Crest Nicholson Holdings PLC shares rose on Tuesday after the firm lifted its payout on a healthy jump in interim revenue, though a cladding provision hit its bottom line.
Crest Nicholson shares were trading 8.4% higher at 276.40 pence each in London on Tuesday morning.
The Surrey-based housebuilder swung to a pretax loss of £52.5 million in the six months ended April 30 from a profit of £36.3 million in the same period a year before.
The FTSE 250 firm blamed this on an exceptional charge of £105.0 million, related to the government's Building Safety Pledge. The pledge addresses the issue of dangerously flammable cladding and ensures that housebuilders fix life-critical fire safety issues.
However, adjusted pretax profit jumped 45% to £52.5 million from £36.1 million.
This was on revenue that rose 12% to £364.3 million from £324.5 million, reflecting the ‘underlying strength’ of the UK housing market and strong customer demand across all regions.
Crest Nicholson declared an interim dividend of 5.5 pence, reflecting a 34% increase year-on-year from 4.1p.
Looking ahead, the company said it is convinced it has a ‘unique opportunity’ to deliver superior returns.
It now expects full-year adjusted profit before tax to be around £135 million to £140 million, up 26% to 31% from £107.2 million in financial 2021.
‘Despite the unpredictable global, economic and political outlook, we remain optimistic about the fundamentals of the UK housing market and are confident in the skill and determination of Crest Nicholson colleagues to manage and adapt to these challenges,’ Chief Executive Peter Truscott commented.
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