Henry Boot (LSE:BOOT), the land promotion, property development and home building group, swung to a pre-tax loss of £6.3m in the six months to 30 June, against a £9.8m profit in the same period last year.
Revenue fell to £80.7m from £99.4m, with completed and exchanged land and property sales down to £104.8m from £159.6m, reflecting weaker transaction volumes across the group's core markets.
The decline was driven by lower plot sales at Hallam Land, which completed just 556 plots versus 1,222 a year earlier, alongside a valuation reduction in the wholly owned property portfolio, cost inflation at housebuilding arm Stonebridge Homes, and the March conclusion of the Road Link (A69) contract.
Net debt rose to £132.9m from £108m, pushing gearing to 33.0% from 25.7%, after the group invested in accelerating planning applications and absorbed higher housebuilder deferred payments. Henry Boot has agreed to increase its bank facility by £15m to £165m until the end of December, and continues discussing covenant amendments with lenders.
No interim dividend will be paid, with the board to consider a single final dividend once full-year earnings are known.
New chief executive Ed Hutchinson said the group's land holdings with planning permission or awaiting determination represent an estimated £305m of future gross profit, up from £234m a year earlier.
"The quality of our assets, the strength of our pipeline and the significant value embedded across the business underpin a compelling growth opportunity," Hutchinson said.
The group expects performance to remain second-half weighted, with profit before tax anticipated in line with market consensus of £9.7m for 2026. Hutchinson plans to outline a refreshed strategy alongside full-year results in early 2027.