Henry Boot (LON: BOOT), the Sheffield-based land promotion, property development and housebuilding group, swung to a £6.3m pretax loss in the six months to 30 June, down from a £9.8m profit a year earlier. Shares fell in early trading.
Henry Boot shares traded at 136.0p in today’s London session, down 3.2% from Monday’s close of 140.5p. The stock opened at 145.5p, the session’s high, before slipping to a low of 136.0p by mid-morning as the loss and dividend cut weighed on the stock.
Revenue fell to £80.7m from £99.4m a year earlier, as Hallam Land, the group’s strategic land business, completed 556 plot sales against 1,222 a year earlier, while weakness at housebuilder Stonebridge Homes, which expects an operating loss for the full year, deepened the loss. The Board withheld the interim dividend to protect the balance sheet, deferring a decision on a final payout to the full-year results, and agreed to extend its bank facility to £165.0m, running to the end of December 2026.
Chief executive Ed Hutchinson, who took over the role this summer, said his conviction in the Group’s long-term prospects had “only strengthened” since taking charge, and that Henry Boot expects 2026 performance to be “heavily weighted towards the second half”. He pointed to the group’s land bank, where plots with planning permission or awaiting it represent an estimated £305m of future gross profit, based on recently achieved profit per plot, as evidence the group’s assets are undervalued. Henry Boot still expects full-year pretax profit in line with the £9.7m analyst consensus, weighted towards completions and land sales in the second half.
Hutchinson said the quality of the group’s assets and pipeline underpinned a longer-term recovery.
With more than 9,000 consented residential plots within our strategic land portfolio held at cost and a substantial development pipeline, we possess a depth of value not recognised on our balance sheet. Our priority is clear: unlock this value, enhance cash generation and ensure the Group is well positioned to capitalise as market liquidity and activity improve.
Ed Hutchinson, Henry Boot PLC
Hutchinson is running a strategic review of the group, with a refreshed strategy and new medium-term targets due no later than full-year results in early 2027. Henry Boot is not reaffirming guidance beyond the current financial year until that review concludes.