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First Property Group PLC on Thursday reported it swung to an interim loss as it made no profit from the sale of investment properties, as it did a year prior. The London-based property fund manager and investor said in the six months to September 30, it swung to a pretax loss of £652,000 from a profit of £2.4 million a year prior. Revenue declined 5.3% to £4.0 million from £4.2 million, while cost of sales increased 3.9% to £1.8 million from £1.7 million. Notably, the company incurred no profit from the sale of investment properties, compared to £1.1 million a year prior. First Property declared no interim dividend, compared to a dividend of 0.25 pence per share a year ago. Looking ahead, the company said: ‘Investment demand for commercial property remains weak but occupational demand remains steady. The development of new property is at a cyclical low.’ It added that markets have been challenging due to a rapid rise in interest rates and a collapse in demand for commercial property. However, it noted occupational demand for vacant space in office blocks in Poland, notably in Warsaw and Gdynia. Chief Executive Ben Habib said: ‘As we lease up this space, we will start again to generate good levels of cash, as we have always historically done. In the meantime, our cash balance is good, with over £6 million on the balance sheet, giving us the firepower we need to fitout the space as it is leased.’ First Property shares rose 3.0% to 17.00 pence each on Thursday afternoon in London. Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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