Crest Nicholson Holdings (LSE:CRST) swung to an adjusted operating loss of £11.9m in the six months to 30 April, reversing an £11.9m profit in the same period last year.
The housebuilder's adjusted gross margin fell to £13.9m from £35.4m, with lower housing volumes accounting for £12.7m of the decline and rising provisions on completed apartment developments adding a further £3.6m.
Open market sales rates slipped to 0.48 from 0.53 a year earlier, with the group blaming "current economic uncertainty" for the volume reduction.
Crest Nicholson is in advanced talks with its lending group to amend covenants on its Revolving Credit Facility, and has secured a further waiver on its interest cover covenant, extended to 30 September.
"Lender discussions are well advanced, and the board remains focused on completing the covenant amendment process while continuing to execute Project Elevate", said chief executive Martyn Clark.
The group cut land buying, moderated new site starts and continued marketing non-core land, with one disposal completed in the half and further transactions expected to bring in around £40m of revenue for the year, alongside around £50m of cash proceeds settling in the second half.
Crest Nicholson guided FY26 home completions of 1,400 to 1,500 units, land sales revenue at the lower end of its previously guided £5m-£15m range, and net debt of £100m-£120m.
Build cost inflation is running at around 3-4%, managed through procurement discipline, the company said.
