(Reuters) -British homebuilder Crest Nicholson Holdings Plc swung to a half-year profit and reinstated its dividend on Thursday, benefiting from higher demand as buyers took advantage of government incentives and sought bigger houses better suited to remote working.
Government incentives such as a tax-break extension and a mortgage guarantee scheme, along with increasing customer preferences for spacious properties, have helped homebuilders outperform the wider real estate sector over the past year.
“Having completed the first part of our turnaround strategy, and implemented our operational efficiency programme, our focus now moves to rebuilding operating margins and delivering sustainable growth,” Chief Executive Officer Peter Truscott said.
The Chertsey, Surrey-headquartered firm, which builds houses and flats, and focuses on the southern half of England, said it now expects fiscal 2021 adjusted profit before tax of at least 100 million pounds ($139.57 million).
The FTSE 250 firm reported a pre-tax profit for the six months ended April 30, 2021 at 36.3 million pounds, compared with a loss of 51.2 million pounds a year earlier.
Crest, which said in November it would reinstate a dividend effective from the half-year results of the 2021 fiscal, declared an interim payout of 4.1 pence per share.
Asking prices for British homes between mid-May and early-June rose by 0.8%, compared with a month before, the biggest rise for the time of year since 2015.
($1 = 0.7165 pounds)
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
