Housebuilder’s share price hit after unscheduled trading update

Bovis Homes has said a slowdown in sales and completions this month will result in lower than expected profit for 2016.

In an unscheduled trading update this morning, the housebuilder said it now expects to complete fewer homes this year, estimated at between 3,950 and 4,000 homes.

The firm said this would have a knock-on effect on pre-tax profit, which would come in between £160m to £170m for the calendar year. Analysts on average had been expecting pre-tax profit of £183m, according to Reuters.

However, this still represents a likely pre-tax profit increase on last year, when the firm posted a £160m profit.

The sale of around 180 homes has slipped from this year to next, owing to slower-than-expected build production in December.

Bovis’ share price was down almost 5% in early trading on Wednesday 28 December, trading at around £8.18, down from a close of £8.59 on Friday 23 December.

Bovis Homes said revenue was on course to hit £1.06bn - a 12% increase on £946m in 2015.

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