Bovis Homes cuts dividend

Source: Construction Digital

Date :26/08/2008 09:22:56

In a gloomy interim trading report today, August 26, Bovis Homes Group plc said that profits fell heavily in the first half of 2008 and that it would be cutting its dividend from 20p per share to 5p.

The company saw revenue of £149.3 million against a figure of £259.9 million the year before, while adjusted profit before tax dropped to £11.7 million from £58.4 million.

Bovis went on to say that the reduced dividend payout was ‘reflective of challenging market conditions.’

In the report, the housebuilder revealed that it expects that the current difficult trading environment will continue for the foreseeable future with continued poor mortgage liquidity limiting housing market activity.

Commenting on the results, David Ritchie, Chief Executive of Bovis Homes, said: “The group has taken decisive action in response to the toughest period of trading it has experienced in its time as a public company.

“It has largely avoided new investments in consented land, has reduced production levels and has restructured to cut operating costs. Having done so, the Group is well positioned to deal with prevailing market conditions.”